Growing Up In 'Bangs And' On Turning Ten

“They outgrow us so much faster than we outgrow them. If growing up is the process of creating ideas and dreams about what life should be, then maturity is letting go again. If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!” As displayed in this quote growing up is controversial in many kids’ minds as on one hand, it means maturity and a perspective on life, but on the other hand, it means letting go of that perfect world that comes with a simple mind. Authors often explore this aspect of growing up and write about both the difficulties and experiences that come with age. The passages “Bangs” by Jodi Balfe, “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins and experts from To Kill

To begin with, “the whole idea of it makes [him] feel like [he’s] coming down with something...” (1,2). He describes it as “a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul” (7). Though hyperbolic, his statement sums up his uneasiness with growing up. His melancholy is understandable as he thinks that the understanding that comes with growing up means letting go of that perfect and simple world that one has when they are a child. Furthermore, the narrator thinks that people forget about the life they had as a child after a certain age when an adult figure tries to console him he responds by saying “you tell me it’s too early to be looking back.” (8) This statement portrays the fact that growing up is done alone, and the learning and grasp of life that comes with it cannot be shared as adults are used to it and have forgotten their life as a child. Finally, the narrator contrasts his life currently from when he was younger as he says that “now [he] is mostly at the window” (17). His comprehension of the world comes with consequences as he no longer enjoys the little things he used to anymore. But, as does every child, he comes to terms with it, he admits to himself that when he skins his knees he bleeds, this is way of understanding that growing up is inevitable. All in all, one’s assimilation of the world comes with heartache and sorrow, but it is inevitable and necessary to understand the world to live a full