Birthdays, Lemony Snicket, and the Ring of Power
I recently celebrated my 19th birthday, and as usual, it was somewhat depressing. If you think that’s weird, then I have to say I agree with you. No one my age has any right to be depressed about getting older. They have to wait until they turn 30 or so. (At least, that’s about how it sounds if you listen to people 30 and older).
Here’s a question for you: when you were a little kid, say, 4 to 9 years old, could you not wait to grow up, or were you happy with things staying as they were? Did time seem to pass quickly for you, or did weeks, weekends, summers, last forever?. (Yes, I know that’s two questions).
I’ll answer my own questions. Life has always seemed to go by fast to me, and I never really wanted to grow up. I get a little depressed on my birthdays because it feels like I just had one recently.
And I have a theory about why I feel this way.
I read. A lot. Both books and comic books. Many of the books are long, drawn out fantasy series. (Yes, I’m well aware that I am a total nerd). In many of these series, such as Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Inheritance Trilogy, and The Wheel of Time, consecutive books often come out years apart, and yet, for the characters, sometimes only a few weeks, days or minutes have passed. They’re exactly as I left them when I finished the last book. In one way this is very reassuring because it makes it feel to me as though no time has passed. After going through a year’s worth of stuff, I come back to the series and there’s Rand al’Thor or Arya Stark, or Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, right where I left them. (Incidentally, I’m currently awaiting The Elves of Cintra, the second book in Terry Brooks’ “Genesis of Shannara” trilogy, due out August 28, according to Wikipedia.) I had a similar experience with “The Lord of the Rings” films. I walk in to see “The Return of the King” and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are just now partying about winning the battle of Helms Deep, which I saw a year ago. And of course, with comics, the characters practically never age.
The point is that when I focus on the books or characters, time seems to move slowly, and that’s what I did for years. But on my birthday, I focus on me, and the feelings that no time has passed – which I believe are compounded by the books, movies, etc. – backfire on me. These feelings are made worse by the fact that, while the books may alter my perception of time, they also consume real time.
I love reading. It’s probably my favorite activity. But I also know that when I’m 50, I won’t look back on all my reading and think, “Gosh, those were the days. Good times.” Of course, the same applies to video games, television, commuting, jail, and drug-induced stupors. But you get the point. Although reading is enjoyable and self-improving, it is not fulfilling.
Which just makes it even more obvious how much I need a Time-Turner. Although I’m not sure that would solve the aging problem.
