Eclectic Mix of The Metamorphosis

What with approaching adulthood and all, I had a think about some of the art and literature related things that I believe had a hand in shaping or characterising my childhood – or rather coming of age period and identity blazoned with teenage angst- that I would heavily recommend to others. And I figured the best place to share it, as with every thing else in my life, is on a blog. Actually, come to think of it, a blog was a big part of my childhood too. But anyway. It also means there’s going to pictures in this post. *cue hellish excitement*. I will stick copyright credits at the end. But this is my list of musts before you turn 18.

My foreword to this is so: I’m going to choose the things which I feel are most relevant in each little category – it may not be my favourite ever thing, but I felt it meant something to that border between childhood and adulthood – so there are a million other things that I loved or hated or had moved me in some way, but any such listings of those are for another day. I think most of you amazing people are probably already officially adults, but if something appears here which you haven’t heard of, then I would equally recommend it anyway – it just won’t be so prominent to your life. And finally, any ohm-ah-reekans (Americans) or other such countries which have a legal adulthood at a different time – I’m not too good with details on this – just take 18 as a base. It’s all about what it feels to you anyway. Choose your appropriate transition period. Ha. This is aimed at those on the brink of adulthood.

1. The Book You Absolutely Must Read At Just The Right Moment

“I’ve left schools and places I didn’t even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse.”
J.D Salinger, The Catcher In The Rye

“The Catcher In The Rye” by J.D. Salinger

People say this book is about “a guy who runs away from boarding school”, but it’s so much more than that. I don’t think I would do it any justice if I tried to explain, so just read it. I don’t think you can read this book without finding it both depressing and inspiring all at the same time. It will genuinely make you sob inside for one reason or another. I read this the other day, and it was honestly incredible; I would say the perfect time to have read it is during this child-adult transition period. It’s one of those books you’ll put down, and never forget.

2. The Films You Must Let Your Inner Hipster Watch Every Second Of

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Now, hold on a minute. Calm your anti-hipster gripes down! Let’s be serious. Tumblr breaks if you search for The Perks of Being A Wallflower, but in absolute honesty, this is an incredible indie film. It’s about youth, and not fitting in. So it’s my shameless pick for a coming of age film. It’s one of those films that people take the mick out of because it’s so indie and it’s apparently quite cool to hate indie now. But I’d advise you to like the things you like, don’t be a sheep, and watch this film. Trailer here. Soundtrack here.

Submarine

And I can’t go without saying – because I didn’t think of this one at first but now I must also mention it and it is as much my choice as above in this category – that Submarine is one of the best coming of age films you could ever see. You should absolutely watch it. Trailer here. Info here.

3. The Play You Must See To Convince Yourself Shakespeare Is Actually Pretty Cool

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare

Unless you are already in love with Shakespeare’s words, in which case you can read this or watch it, you need to see this performed in a theatre well, where you can sit in a room and just feel it all happening in front of you. I had the pleasure of seeing David Tennant perform this on the Stratford stage years ago now – it was, as you would imagine, astonishing – but it remains to be my favourite Shakespeare play in itself. If you were ever put off Shakespeare studying English at school, I recommend this to you reverently. There is no worth in hating Shakespeare because his writing is breath-taking and schools ruin a lot of things about English for no particular reason. Rebel against your teachings on this one. The reason I chose it on this specific list is because it’s relevant. It’s about youth, loss, revenge, impulse, ghosts from the past and suicide. Look out for the soliloquies on suicide and death. They’re the best bits.

4. The Poem You Must Fuel A Rebellion With

“Evidently Chickentown” by John Cooper Clarke

This is heavy on the swearing, and I mean heavy, so if you’re faint of heart, leave now. It’s my choice of a poem because it’s pretty rebellious, youthful, and stays contemporary to every generation. John Cooper Clarke, I admire – he’s a performance poet really and often put his words with musical tracks.

“the fucking train is fucking late
you fucking wait you fucking wait
you’re fucking lost and fucking found
stuck in fucking chicken town”
John Cooper Clarke, Evidently Chickentown

It may be a little above the age I’m setting down, because I think it stays relevant for a while afterwards, but I like it anyway and it feels right to include it. It sets something alight in you when you here it that I think adolescence is all about discovering. Read the whole poem here or watch him perform it at Latitude here.

5. The Song You Must Cry Your Childish Tears Through

“Ghosts That We Knew” by Mumford & Sons

It is not one of their most well known songs, but that is, in part, why I’m choosing it. It was quite difficult to choose a song for this one, because people’s music tastes tend to be very personal and different from others, but I would ask you to put your musical hats aside and give this song a listen. It helped me a lot when I needed it and it’s on the list because it can be interpreted in its own way, but alludes to loss, grief and moving on, death, life and its ghosts. If you only listen to this song once, then I hope you treasure it. To me, again forgetting all the popular opinions, good and bad, about them, Mumford & Sons are poetry. Take this song in your childhood, and listen to the rest of their songs in your adulthood.

“And the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view
And we’ll live a long life.”
Mumford & Sons, Ghosts That We Knew

That’s the end of my list. It’s all artsy things. But with my whole heart, I’d say these are the things you want to be listening/reading/watching before you hit adulthood. They’ve had an impact on me in the recent months so I just wanted to share that. I’m 18 in about 3 weeks, so I give you that these are choices based on my own experiences. And I didn’t mean to bore anyone who has already been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. I still really love all the things I mentioned so would recommend them at any stage. So, when adulthood comes knocking in a few weeks, these are the things I’m arming myself with. If you have your own things that you used – any recommendations or anything – spam me with comments, because as I mentioned, blogging and its bloggers have been with me all through my childhood. And these things that we’ve said will never grow up.

Just a little footnote I need to add. These are credits for the images used: J.D. Salinger & Publishers, Quoterist, Unknown (Hamlet), Mojo Magazine, Unknown (Mumford)- Sourced from here. Thank you for reading!