Coming of Age.

What exactly is "coming of age"?

I asked myself this question at the beginning of the semester, and I'm still pondering the answer. I still think about this very often and I still can not find a definitive answer.

My beliefs, however, still hold true. I still think that coming of age is different for every person. And I still believe that you won't really be aware of your coming of age while it is happening, you'll have to reflect on the process to realize that it has happened.

This class has shown me a lot about the coming of age process. Finding yourself is a large part of it, but not only finding yourself. Coming of age also has to do with being comfortable with yourself and finding your place in the world.

Many of the novels we read for the class were narrated by an older version of the main character. They were reflecting on their coming of age processes and showing us parts of their lives that were important in this process. This supports my belief that you'll have to reflect on it to realize that it has happened. I found it really interesting to see which moments in their lives they thought were significant in the coming of age process, especially with a lot of them being non-conventional "coming of age moments".

Overall this class has been really helpful in helping me understand a little bit more what coming of age means and what can affect it. I hope others found it as interesting and thought-provoking as I did.

Night Club

Towards the end of the novel Sag Harbor we see a really great moment for Ben(ji).
He is trying to get into this night club for a concert. Normally, underage people aren't allowed into the club but somehow Benji and his friend get through security and into the concert. This is a turning point for Benji because he becomes immersed in crowd and the music.

This is one of the first times in the novel where we see Benji completely happy and comfortable with himself. He feels this amazing sense of community and acceptance and it's a really good addition to the novel.

This is kind of an important time for Benji, especially in the coming of age process. As Ben reflects on this moment you can tell it was a very defining experience for him. He finally feels accepted as a person in his community, which is what he was striving for a lot in the beginning of the book.

I half expected there to be a huge conflict as he tried to get into the club. Like the bouncer would stop him and he would get in a bunch of trouble or something like that. But he just slides right through security and to me it was somewhat anti-climactic. But I think it adds to the build up of the ending moment in the chapter.

I think we all have experiences like this in our lives and I think the way Whitehead portrays that with Benji was really great and I really enjoyed reading it.

The Undiscussed

Once again, I am still caught up on a book we finished a while ago. Black Swan Green struck a chord with me. There were so many events that I could relate to including divorce, trying to fit in, and bullying.

I have experienced bullying before. I have been bullied, I have seen bullying, but I have never seen bullying as it is portraying in BSG. 

Much of the bullying I've seen or experienced is on a smaller scale. In the novel though, the bullying that takes place is much worse than anything I have witnessed.
Our society now is much more driven to eradicate bullying. We drill into everyone's head from a very young age that bullying is bad and we should not do it. This definitely does not stop bullying from happening whatsoever but I think it helps in some ways.
Another reason why bullying is usually on a smaller scale now is because we have a lot of online bullying that takes place. Online bullying is a serious issue in our society. It's so easy for people to hide behind a computer screen and say things they might never say to someone's face.

Like I said before, I have also been bullied. I've been called ugly, annoying, someone once told me and my best friend that she was going to "make our lives a living hell". Although I have gotten past this personally and try not to let it affect me, I can still empathize with people who are being bullied. Because of my experience, I try to watch what I say to others in fear that I might hurt them and I also try to stop people from saying things to others as well.

I think many people who have been bullied could relate to Jason in this novel as he is bullied many many times. I am one of the people who can relate to him a lot, through bullying and honestly through so much more in this novel. The relatable aspect of Black Swan Green made this one of my favorite novels in the class, ranking up there with Catcher in the Rye. 
I really enjoyed reading it and I think more people should be exposed to Mitchell's works.