Blog #23 Here's Herbie

The way we see other people can strongly impact the way we see ourselves. Wether it's insecurity or overconfidence, we always have our own self image. The main character in the story has his own conscious battles with himself. He gets good grades, he's handsome, smart, athletic and many people love him for who he is as a person. The speaker views himself a little differently, every little difference or imperfection is considered a huge flaw. His life isn't terrible but he still finds things to be depressed about such as his allergies and his mothers illness affecting him. He considers himself psychosomatic so even when he doesn't have any real problems he makes his own within his mind. He compares himself with others around him which creates a tug of war cycle. He believes that people will view him differently so he holds back on doing what he wants to do. The speaker is so insecure about the smallest things that he's scared to embrace the simple accomplishments and gifts. How ever once the train incident is over I feel as if the speaker is more carefree and limitless. He realizes that his worst critic is himself and that he needs to let go of his insecurities in order to do what he wants to do. I can relate this story to my life just as any other teenager can. There's always that time where you compare yourself to others or feel as of you don't fit your own standards. You bring yourself down when there are so many things to be proud of and so many simple things to enjoy.