By Ritikha Nagah

Every summer we got to experience the beauty of the beach house in the fictional town of Cousins, the setting of the hit show “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The show is based on the book trilogy by Jenny Han and follows the story of Isabel “Belly” Conklin, and her coming of age journey. Belly’s main issues begin when she is thrust into a love triangle with her mother’s best friend’s sons, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. She spends each summer unraveling in a relationship with either boy, slowly trying to figure out who she wants to spend the rest of her life with. This divides the fandom of the show into two different groups: team Conrad or team Jeremia. But what about team Belly?

For years, the debate has remained constant over which brother is better for Belly. They each possess convoluted flaws such as their emotional unavailability and instability, and they go through a lot throughout the series with the death of their mother and possibly losing the beach house they spent every summer in with her. They loved their mother and losing her triggered their deepest insecurities. Conrad became closed off with his mother’s cancer diagnosis and was emotionally repressed. He constantly pushed Belly away, thinking he wasn’t good enough for her. Jeremiah, on the other hand, used Belly as a replacement for his mother’s love and became so much closer to her. However, he carried feelings of insecurity and jealousy, knowing that Conrad and Belly had previously dated. He couldn’t deal with these feelings and often took them out in ways that hurt Belly. Both boys broke Belly’s heart–Jeremiah through cheating on her and Conrad through distancing himself from her.

Through this whole journey of choosing the boy to spend her whole life with, Belly is torn between who she was and who she is becoming. The Fisher boys represent her past since they were constants in her childhood. This makes it harder for Belly to let go of the Fisher boys and figure out who she is without them. However, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” nails this point with how it shows the complexities of growing up and how there are no clear answers to choosing someone. There is a lot of trial and error which is clear through the different relationships Belly has with each of the boys, whether it be a friendship or a romantic partnership. These boys are meant to be chapters in her life, not the whole book. She needs a sense of discovery for herself which she gets in Paris.

Belly’s infamous escape from her wedding begins her journey into becoming Isabel. In Paris, Belly is able to get a fresh start without people she knew for her entire life. She makes new friends that push her out of her comfort zone and are real with her when she makes irrational decisions. They help her become an adult version of herself. She has suddenly figured out life on her own by working two jobs, taking online classes to graduate, and perfecting her French. She was always able to find a way out of her problems in Paris because of her desire and determination.  The best part of this journey is that she did it all alone with only a little help from other people. For the first time in her life, she was allowed to do things without her parents, without her brother Steven and especially without the Fisher brothers.

There’s still nothing wrong with choosing a side, so choose your favorite brother and argue about it because that is what builds community and discussion. Belly might have been better off single, but we gained so much from her relationships and indecision. The point will always be that a girl does not need a boy to figure out life and she should never shrink herself for him. Therefore, it’s team Isabel Susannah Conklin always.

Photo by Kyle Arjoonsingh