Even though this downfall in educational commitment took a toll on Charlie, it still kept him above par. He was still the smart kid who knew the answer to Question 5. The problem was timing. The downfall hit him at the most crucial point in his school carrer. This was the time when students were meant to choose their majors, decide their colleges, and apply themselves. Charlie was so new to the concept of not being so uptight about school that he neglected to choose a major, decide his college, and apply himself. So while everyone else was talking about where they are going to be whatever they were going to be, Charlie could only say, "I don't know." This answer fell out of Charlie's mouth an awful lot, considering once anyone finds out you are an upper-level in high school, they must ask where and why you are going to college. It's almost as if it were taboo not to. So, too often, Charlie could reply nothing more than "I don't know" and listen to the same lectures on how it's okay to be unsure. But it's utter bullshit, really. It's not okay to be unsure. Charlie knew this. But he realised it all too late.
So while everyone is off to Boston, Madison, San Fransisco, Charlie is at home watching reruns of The Office. His college becomes the only college that will accept him. A simple technical college that accepts anyone. Literally anyone. When Charlie realised that the kid who once dreamed of growing up to be a huge success has grown up to be a nobody who can't even get into a college that has any dignity, he died a little inside. As cheesy as it sounds, it's true. The dreams and hopes of Young Charlie died. Young Charlie would never grow up to be what he wanted. Not even close. And Charlie Pond is at fault. Somewhere in life, we hit a moment when a switch goes off and we grow into a person completely opposite of our youngerselves. And when you reflect on yourself and realise that it has actually happened, you lose such a great part of your life. That's what happened to Charlie Pond. He was broken. He could see that he was broken. He knew exactly why he was broken. But there was nothing he could do to fix it.
So while everyone is off to Boston, Madison, San Fransisco, Charlie is at home watching reruns of The Office. His college becomes the only college that will accept him. A simple technical college that accepts anyone. Literally anyone. When Charlie realised that the kid who once dreamed of growing up to be a huge success has grown up to be a nobody who can't even get into a college that has any dignity, he died a little inside. As cheesy as it sounds, it's true. The dreams and hopes of Young Charlie died. Young Charlie would never grow up to be what he wanted. Not even close. And Charlie Pond is at fault. Somewhere in life, we hit a moment when a switch goes off and we grow into a person completely opposite of our youngerselves. And when you reflect on yourself and realise that it has actually happened, you lose such a great part of your life. That's what happened to Charlie Pond. He was broken. He could see that he was broken. He knew exactly why he was broken. But there was nothing he could do to fix it.
