Then and Now

I was in Fully Booked yesterday with some of the Bfast Club folks and we wound up going to the children's books section while waiting for our rides to go home. I haven't stepped foot in the children's books section of any bookstore in a long loooong time. Out of curiosity, I ventured over to the young adults section to see what the popular series that kids today were reading. While Sweet Valley and Babysitters Club books used to dominate the shelves back when I was younger, Gossip Girl books and A-list (?) and other books of that sort fill the shelves now. Two thoughts popped into my head.

1. Ohmygod am I -that- old?

2. What a shame that they never got to read the series I was hooked on before.

On the first thought: I've been noticing more and more these days how kids today are clearly not in the same generation as me and my other friends. We grew up listening to Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys; they're growing up listening to Avril Lavigne and Ashlee Simpson. We grew up watching the Power Rangers, Captain Planet, Magic School Bus, Boy Meets World, Ghost Writer, Popular and Charmed; they're growing up watching Totally Spies, Kim Possible, The O.C. and One Tree Hill. I suppose it's just natural and expected. After all, I can't expect time to just stand still. I'm sure my older siblings and cousins thought the same things I'm thinking of now when they reached the point when the generation gap and age difference were too glaring. (I still remember my sisters talking about Ricky Martin back when he was still in the Menudos and my brother talking about Voltez 5 and the Transformers.) I don't have a younger sibling so I don't feel the difference as much but when I do encounter my friends' younger sibs (or hear stories about them), that's when I realize that damn we are getting older.

On the second thought: Books were a huge part of my world when I was younger. Sure, they're still important now but other things have reached the same rank as them now that I'm older. When I was a kid, a trip to the mall would never be complete without going to National Book Store (back when Powerbooks and Page One and Fully Booked were non-existent). I remember buying the latest Sweet Valley and BSC book that was coming out that month. I wound up collecting over a hundred BSC books -- and that's not even counting Super Specials, BSC Mysteries, and BSC Autobiographies. In retrospect, it was somewhat foolish to have bought so many of these books (think of how much my BSC collection is worth monetarily!) when the story line revolves around the same thing and is somewhat trivial but at age 10, these things were far from trivial and the idea of 13-year-old babysitters was just the coolest thing ever. I'm sure a lot of kids today would enjoy reading them the way I did. I'm lucky to have had older sisters who loved reading as much as me so I was able to read some series that weren't even in print anymore at my time like Girl Talk, River Heights, and The Gymnasts. Gossip Girl isn't exactly something I think 10-year-olds should be reading but it's just an indicator of how society is changing and how kids today are growing up faster than they should be. I hear stories about 13-year-olds making out in the pool in Fontana and see some grade seven ICAns wearing clothes of the latest trend and probably seven layers of makeup and it just amazes me really how different things were then and now.

But going back to books -- one thing I was happy about was finding one section devoted entirely to books by Roald Dahl, Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary. In fact, two of my favorite Judy Blume books there were still on sale -Just As Long As We're Together and Deenie. These three are authors whose works I love and would want my kids to read in the future. Hopefully, they'll still be in print by then.

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Australs is pushing through so I'm flying back to Singapore on June 26 to train with my teammates for a few days before going off to Malaysia for the tournament proper. I'll be coming home on July 14 though so I still have roughly two weeks in Manila to meet up with friends and spend time with my family before going back to Singapore for the semester. As much as I'm happy that Australs is pushing through, I was somewhat bummed that I had to give up the Smart internship. Then again, there'll be plenty of summers to do internships and a free trip with friends and the high a debate tournament offers is always great.

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There are three get-togethers I had last week that deserve a special mention.

First, I got to meet up with Roxanne (twice!) after not seeing her for almost six months. It was great to reunite with my debate best friend and comforting to know that some things never change. I may not talk to her that often when we're in school, but every time we do get a chance to meet up, it's almost as though we just saw each other the other day and the conversation flows naturally -- no pauses, no awkward silences, just two old friends catching up and laughing like old times. It was also reassuring to talk to someone from Manila who studied abroad who had similar experiences and concerns as me.

I also got to meet up with Ms. Pe and Ms. Lim last week. After a year out of ICA, I don't see them as teachers anymore but as older friends who would always be there for me -- for support, for advice, and for good laughs. It was the first time the three of us girls managed to be out on our own (Fred was always there before haha) and the conversation we had over dinner was the kind that could go on and on. It's rare for me to have this kind of conversation with people and all I can say is, that's the beauty of being on the same wavelength.

Lastly, I got to meet up with the Breakfast Club again. From gossiping with Elle in Ateneo to crashing, pigging out, bonding and camwhoring at Stace's house to playing with the rabbits and catching up at Barbs's house to meeting old friends in Promenade to reminiscing about crazy high school memories and laughing about teachers and old jokes (Think: Arms forward raaaaaiiiise! and Greek Meeeeeth. ResponsiBEL. Bleees. Hahaha) in CPK and Bizu, I am confident that the Breakfast Club will last beyond university life. Mom was right -- your high school friends will be your lifelong true friends. :)

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Hurrah, I've gotten rid of my writer's block!