Teen to Teen Talk
Find your interest, find your passion
By Elizabeth Horner 

I’m always looking for something to read. My shelves at home are filled with well-loved hard-and-paperback books. I have several library cards with my name on it. And I scan the internet regularly for recommendations from my favorite authors. And yet, in spite of that, it has taken me several years to get to The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. I’d heard of it since I was a little girl, but it wasn’t until I watched an episode of 8 Simple Rules, and I saw Kaley Cuoco’s character crying because she wanted to be “caught” like one of the kids in the story, that I knew I really wanted to know what it was about. 

Now, I’ve read books that open portals into other worlds; books that provide me with a window of insight into somebody else’s thoughts, and yet, I can only describe this classic novel as a staircase, a tight spiral going downwards as protagonist Holden Caulfield delves deeper and deeper into his own angst and depression. He essentially chooses to flunk out of school, running from the “phonies” of the world and straight into a greater trouble. 

The bright points in the story come from other characters; a couple of nuns who Holden has lunch with… his memories of an old crush… and most of all, in the recollections and interactions Holden has with his siblings, of who he is extremely fond. In fact, I think it is his younger sister Phoebe whose little hand proves the strongest in eventually holding him up above his misery. I closed the cover on the last page vaguely disappointed that I hadn’t gotten more insight on the book than that. 

And yet, as days passed, my thoughts have continuously returned to Holden and his lamentations, which are not really so different from my own ponderings (What is the point of so many of the little things we do? Why is it so rare to find someone we can really talk to?) and I realized that I had gotten more from the book than I had previously supposed. Because while I can find a little bit of Holden in myself, I have found my reasons--- the best reasons in the world--- not to give up the way he is often tempted to. How lucky I am to have people who I would do anything for. To know that I want to write for a living, and to love the clack, clack, clack of the keyboard under my fingers as I stamp myself into the page with every letter. Every time I wonder at the futility of some of my efforts, I find an answer that leads to what I am passionate about. 

During the teenage years, many of us, like Holden, go on a search for ourselves. And while I admire introspection and understand that everyone needs to gain a sense of their own identity, I don’t think it’s a puzzle that we can figure out all at once. Maybe it’s good enough to know what one cares about, and later on, to see how those things truly make us who we are. 

Ultimately, what is most important in a life of getting up, going to school or work, doing chores, is that we find that special something that is worth getting up, going to work or school, and doing chores for. I know it sounds corny, but I think everyone who hasn’t already done so, should extend some time to rooting out their own interests. 

If all our lives are like stories, then our passions are what move the plot forward, what adds layers to ourselves as characters, and why we should all find our happy endings.