Last week, I turned 21. Family and friends reached out left and right to congratulate me because I did it — I finally made it! Welcome to real adulthood.
After I turned 11, I stopped “feeling older” and having that big ego boost the day of my birthday the way I did as a kid. Every year when my birthday came around, rather than seeing one day as a monumental step forward, I would reflect on the year behind me and look forward to the year ahead. When I turned 15, everyone told me I was finally a real woman and I was all grown up. At 16, I’m grown now that I’m legally allowed to drive. At 18, now I’m actually a grown-up according to the law. Finally, a week into being officially 21, and I hear the same spiel I hear every year, but this time I should celebrate the fact that I can legally drink now even though I don’t drink—the irony.
Don’t get me wrong; I love being 21 so far. I have spent a week being so grateful for the well-wishes and proud of how far I’ve come, from my academic accomplishments to my journey to rediscovering my self-worth. I’ve loved every minute that I’ve gotten to spend with my friends and family. But sometimes, it does make me laugh a little that I don’t perceive my age the same way they do.
At the start of 2021, I picked up my Kindle e-reader for the first time in years. I’ve always loved my Kindle; it was the perfect way to get me back into reading for someone that struggled with holding physical books and seeing the pages. I was never the bookworm my friends were as a kid, but I read many popular books back then. Now, in-between semesters during the breaks and summer vacations, I loved bringing my Kindle with me and using that as a time to really dive into my next novel.
Throughout 2021, I listened to BookTok recommendations and kept up with, fellow Her Campus at UCF member, Baylee’s book account on Instagram @baylees.books and I managed to read 12 books this year. To a well-seasoned bookworm that may not seem like a significant number of books, but for me? The number of books I read between the ages of 15-19 can be counted on one hand, maybe two if you count the required English readings for school. I wasn’t expecting to finish more than three books this year, so to have read more than ten before the end of 2021 feels like a celebration of its own. When first I started reading again, I just wanted to compare how books would make me feel like an adult vs. as a kid. I wanted to see how much my perspective has changed, compare how big my imagination now is and see if I could find the jokes that went over my head as a kid. At one point, it was a point of pride to prove to myself that I could start reading again. Now, all I feel is that same excitement to pick up my favorite childhood books and return to the fantasy worlds that gave me joy and hope growing up. The feeling of magic, legends, cool powers and friendships through my favorite characters. I fell in love with reading all over again
So, here I am, a recently turned 21-year-old with everyone commending her growth into adulthood and I find myself desperately clinging to my youth by returning to the books that gave my inner child the most fantastic escape. But honestly, I’m happy to be doing this as an adult. I get to enjoy these new series that BookTok has shown me and truly feel the maturity of the timeless classics I didn’t appreciate in my middle school language arts classes but still get immersed all the same in my fantasy youth novels.
All I have to say is, if you’ve thought about rereading your favorite childhood books again, I would highly recommend it. There’s a reason they were your favorites back then; why not give them a read now?