Nicholas Hastings/Character Analysis

Grew up… in a family of four in North Valley, Massachusetts. Nick doesn't feel connected to his immediate family. He has a close connection to his grandparents, and his grandfather in particular and always wished to live with them. He never had many friends, kids have never really saw him and always felt invisible. His best friend was Matthew Nichols until the summer before 8th grade when Matt had to move away. His 8th grade year was terrible and became very depressed, resulting him to go to therapy. This year was very complicated for Nick because he was depressed, felt very alone and invisible more than ever, but he began writing and made him feel better. His luck turned around in 9th grade when a kid named Xander Chen started talking to him and they connected. They connected so much that Xander invited Nick to be in his friend group.

Living… with his mother, Kathryn, his father John, his brother Eli (when he is home from college). He has no real issue with his family, he loves his family but he doesn't really liked them. That sounds bad which Nick kind of acknowledges but he has no connection to them. His favorite person in his house is his cat Jasper. He doesn't feel part of this family and wishes to live with his grandparents who he has a better relationship with.

Profession… high school student and writer. Despite seemingly being perceived as a "nerd" he actually hates school for the most part. He doesn't like how public school in America is runned. He is not a star student he gets by and is only in honors English where he thrives. He is a smart person but feels more comfortble in different subjects than others. His writing skills comeback in full force when he decides to create an anonymous blog on the North Valley High School social media site (similar to Tumblr) Classified. He names the blog "The Lost Boy Chronicles" which represents his feelings about being lost in life.

Interests… not that much (according to him). Nick spends most of his time, wallowing in his self-pity. In all actuality he has a lot of interests. He is interested in pop culture, like television, films, music, reading (books and indie comic books) and video games. He is interested in writing about society and daily life which bleeds into his intterests in politics. Nick is interested in not letting people write his own story.

Relationship status… single... clearly. Nick has a lot of crushes or at least people he is attracted to. He is not the person to have the confidance to ask someone out. He has to figure himself out before he dives into a relationship. It also doesn't help that he is a closeted bisexual, who has just figured that out. He has no real problem with coming out, he doesn't want to make it a big deal because he feels like it's his life and straight people don't have to comeout why should he.

Challenge… dealing with the resentment and trauma he has been dealt with all his life. Nick is full of hurt with feeling alone and invisible. He wants the oppurtunity to live his life the way he wants to and with balancing his depression and anxiety so he doesn't feel so uncomfortable all of the time. He has the goal to maintain his relationships and not feel so invisible and lost all of the time and just feel confident. He is caught up in his hurt that he has faced that he doesn't see the good part of life. He is cynical to a fault that he doesn't realize he is hurting the people around him too.

Personality… sarcastic, angsty and introspective. Nick is the most stereotypical angsty teenager, just full of anxiety, dread and drama. He sees the world in all of the good and the bad, but tends to lean into the bad. He is a lot less mature than he thinks he is, and often is shocked to have a reality check. He doesn't see the bigger picture which he thinks he does. He feels things so deeply that it's often hard for him to not take things to heart. His writing definitely helps him to relate to the students of his school in a way that is anonymous. People have no idea that this Lost Boy person that everyone is interested in is actually the person that no one talks about.