an ugly ducking because she did not fit anyone's notion of beauty (Moser 2). "Who am I?" (Joplin 48) she asked herself in her sophomore year. "She was surprised and then overwhelmed by a perceived inability to attain the social ideal" (Joplin 49). She was deeply hurt by rejections she suffered in high school from those who did not understand her (Leahy 1). The Little Theater group introduced her to a new horizon, the 'Beat' lifestyle. This group was the one place where she felt comfortable and fully accepted (Joplin 53). The 'Beats' were non-conformists of society. By daring to rebel, Janis an!
             d her friends made themselves easy targets for ridicule (Joplin 57). The tormenting affected Janis more than it affected the others. Janis and her friends often talked about sex, and other topics that were not supposed to be talked about, but Janis couldn't experiment with anyone, no one seemed to be interested in her. "Oh, Janis, you're a good old girl!" The guys often said (Joplin 60). Janis was just as much of a woman as anyone, but she was more considered 'one of the guys'. She didn't date guys very much because she couldn't figure out her own identity. She loved painting and it consumed most of her days. She let her emotions out onto her canvas. Her brush strokes captured any emotion, and the images she painted shouted out her inquisitiveness.
             In her junior year of high school, alcohol entered into Janis' social scene. Since the legal drinking age in Texas was 21, Janis and her friends had to figure out ways to obtain it. They would cross the border into New Orleans to drink and would do this frequently. Marijuana soon entered into their scene also. Janis bolted from the innocence of childhood insistent on finding a better replacement than a compromising adulthood. Her parents, oddly were comforted by the fact that Janis had reached a level of social independence upon her graduation in 1960 (Joplin 72).
             She went to study at Lamar...