How We Related To Blankets - Jason

I found it incredibly easy to relate to Blankets. Craig's first love is similar to my own in several aspects. Like Craig, I also became completely immersed in my first love. She became my entire world and the reason for my existence. All of my time was devoted to her, whether we were together or not. While Craig wrote letters and spoke to Raina on the phone, my ex-girlfriend and I used to talk on MSN Messenger for hours at a time. My relationship also ended abruptly as well. This lead to another parallel with Craig. Craig and I both chose to destroy our memories of the time we spent with our former loves. Craig chose to burn his memories in a fire, while I erased the logs of every chat that I had kept. I wanted to pretend that she did not exist, just like Craig did.

I also related to the bullying Craig experienced. In elementary school and high school, I was the victim of several types of bullying. In elementary school, I was mocked for my clothing, my "nerdy" interests, my glasses, and my intelligence. In high school, the bullying shifted from being about my appearance or my nerdy interests, to being about my long, unkempt hair. I did not adhere to any clique or participate in what was trendy and I was treated as an outcast.

Craig and Phil's relationship also paralleled the relationship I shared with my brother. When we were young, despite childish conflicts, we were very close. However, as time passed and we both became teenagers, we became distant and very different people.

Religion was also important to my family, however not to the same extremity as Craig's parents. My family was Catholic, and if I adhered to catholic principles and attended church regularly, I was rewarded, particularly with praise from my grandparents. However, like Craig I have also fallen away from my religious beliefs and do not identify as a catholic.