Stand Out In Finding Forrester

Dr. Seuss once said, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Many people seem to know this quote, or have at least heard of it. Most of them even agree wholeheartedly with it. Why is it then, that we still feel the need to fit in? When watching Finding Forrester, the theme of struggling to fit in and the reality of how hard it can be when you stand out, become the most apparent to me.
In the beginning of Finding Forrester, Jamal Wallace does his best to fit in with his group of friends in the Bronx by maintaining a solid “C” average in school. His test scores, however, end up making him stand out. Growing up in the Bronx, Jamal was expected to be good at sports and maybe okay at school. That’s just how things were. If he actually tried in school he was bound to …show more content…
As humans, we’re group-oriented. This means that we want to be accepted and know our role within that group. In order to try and fit in, a lot of people will do things in order to become liked or to gain the approval of others. This, unfortunately, leads to people doing things that they wouldn’t normally do to become accepted. For example, in Finding Forrester, Jamal agrees to break into Forrester’s house because he doesn’t want to lose face in front of his friends. Likewise, in real life situations, teenagers feel pressured to do things such as smoke pot or drink at parties because they don’t want to look “uncool” in front of their friends.
In Finding Forrester, Jamal Wallace overcomes one of the biggest obstacles: becoming okay with not fitting in. Everyone has tried desperately to fit in with a certain group at one time or another, and knows just how difficult that can be. But, speaking from experience, standing out can be so much harder. Even if, like me, it was a conscious choice to stand out it can still make for a lonely high school experience-- an ultimately rewarding one-- but a difficult