The Inner You

In the book Crank, by Ellen Hopkins, the main character is born Kristina, the hard working honors student. But when she visits her drug-addicted dad, she soon starts identifying as Bree, a crazy, dangerous teenager. Bree does things that Kristina could never dream of. Pretty soon, Bree takes over completely, and Kristina has to struggle  to be heard. When I first meet Bree, I thought that she was just a phase, that Kristina would gain control once she went back home, to Reno. It soon becomes apparent that Bree is here to stay. This leaves me questioning whether or not it is possible to identify with two completely different personalities in one person.

When Kristina/Bree comes home from visiting her dad in Albuquerque, she, like the reader, is expecting Bree, along with her yearn for crystal meth ( or, as she calls it, the monster), to slowly fade away, and that Kristina will take over. But she finds that she can't keep a part of her quiet forever. Bree had become a part of Kristina, and she was here to stay. She says "Bree is the essence of me". What exactly does that mean? Does Kristina/Bree still identify at all as Kristina? Is it even possible to change that much in such a short period of time? I do believe that Bree is a major part of Kristina/Bree. But I also believe that Bree would not be able to function without Kristina. Right now, Bree is a cry for help. She thinks that Kristina has been to goody-goody for too long, and Bree has not had a chance to shine. But without Kristina, Bree has no reason to do all of the dangerous things she does. She does those dangerous things to show that everyone does not know Kristina/Bree as well as they thought she did. But Bree can't handle no one knowing her at all, so she still clings to Kristina. It is a symbiotic relationship, though they both refuse to recognize the other. Until they do, Bree/Kristina will never find peace.

To conclude, it is possible to discover a new part of yourself. Maybe you'll only find one. Or maybe you'll find multiple traits of yourself that don't exactly fit together, but still make you you. Still, I don't think it is healthy to find second you that is completely different. Kristina/Bree used Bree to do everything she wanted. But while doing that, she lost sight of Kristina. While she really identifies with Bree and Kristina, she only admits to herself as identifying as Bree. Had she found a balance to Bree and Kristina, she would have been able to be both in harmony. It is up to each of us to discover all parts of ourselves, but then find a way to make all of the puzzle pieces together.