✭On the day when she breaks up with Melinda at lunch, Heather acknowledges that Melinda is “the most depressed person [she’s] ever met.” She also tells her that she thinks Melinda needs professional help. Did Heather handle this situation properly? Why or why not? 

Heather is extremely insensitive, brutal and ignorant when she decides to break her friendship with Melinda. Her reasons for ending the friendship indicate her arrogance towards others and her lack of careful consideration. “You don’t like anything. You are the most depressed person I’ve ever met…you are no fun to be around and I think you need professional help.” Despite the fact that Heather’s opinion may be legitimate, she causes great distress to Melinda’s emotions by emphasizing her struggles. Melinda desires a devoted friend who would help her overcome adversity, not deflate her instead. Melinda is further overwhelmed when Heather returns their friendship necklace in a Valentines Day envelope. Melinda is now aware that Heather heartlessly took advantage of her in order to integrate in the crowd without really cherishing their friendship.

✭On one of the days Melinda decides to skip school, she spends it at the hospital. She stays for a while, then begins to feel sorry and leaves because the people at the hospital are “really sick people, sick that you can see.” What does she mean by this statement? Is a “sick that you can see” comparable to a sick you cannot see? 

Melinda seeks places that will allow her to be anonymous. Her trip to the hospital makes her conclude her struggles are inconsequential and valueless. She decides on getting herself admitted to the hospital but ends up reconsidering her thinking because she is not physically hurt like the other patients. However, her mental suffering pain is comparable, if not even more influential than physical pain. Her denial to accept she has emotional struggles reveals she is mentally ill. “There is nothing wrong with me. These are really sick people. Sick that you can see”.  Her toughness expresses her inability of reaching out for help. Melinda’s ability to relief her emotions is out of reach.