Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to be yourself one hundred percent of the time and still have everyone love you for it? Now, imagine taking it just one step too far and now you’re being shunned by an entire high school. In Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl can be summed up in about one word: weird. When she takes her friendliness to another level, she must decide if being herself is more important that being liked. Three lessons we learn in this novel are, being proud to be yourself, not letting popularity get the best of you, and embracing your differences.
In life, being true to who you are can play a big part in your self- esteem and overall happiness. Stargirl has no trouble expressing herself. She sticks out from the norm by wearing her extravagant outfits, singing to students in the cafeteria, and being kind to literally everyone. She doesn’t care who may or may not like her, and some may describe her as blithe. “It was Hillari’s name at the end of the song, but true to her word of the day before, she did not sing it to Hillari- she sang it to me (Spinelli 28).”
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Everyone wants to be liked, to have a million friends, to be the person people wave to in the hallways. Some are the complete opposite of Stargirl in the sense that their actions are meant to please others instead of making yourself happy. Leo does this when he fells the need to decide whether he wants to be liked, or if his love for her would be enough. He thinks back on what Señor Saguaro had said to him: “Whose affection do you value more, hers or the others’ (Spinelli 128).” He started avoiding her in school, stops walking with her to classes, and became even more of a laughing stock after she posted a sign that professed her feelings for him that said “Stargirl Loves Leo” for everyone to see. He feels as if he understands what Hillari was thinking when she didn’t want to be sung to. At the same time as all this though, he’s not sure if she’s worth giving