Growing Up

I stopped considering myself a child in late middle school, at around 14 years old. I never really grew up with a security item by my side, but I have a friend who’s still closely attached to her childhood ripped-up stuffed animal. She still will get anxious if take it from her or something, so I can imagine I’d feel pretty sad and anxious if mine were taken from me. I’d probably feel out of control or a sense of hopelessness. I realized that I’ll have to let go of what makes me comfortable in order to grow when I was 14, but it was because I was growing out of something that I considered almost a personality trait. I was a hardcore fan of BTS for the entirety of middle school and I owe it to them for keeping me happy throughout those darker times for me. When I realized their music didn’t have the same effect on me as it once did, I packed up every album/poster/merch item I owned to put into storage. I remember crying so much about it but it really did make me realize that it’s okay to move on from things that comforted me.