One of the discussion topics that came up last Friday was the question of whether or not Benji had come of age. I'm pretty sure it was James that suggested "coming of age" is a gradual process, a series of events. I've been thinking of my own "coming of age" and what it means to me, and I've decided I quite agree with the suggestion of a gradual process.
In the last chapter, Benji may undermine some of the success and growth that he's gone through over the summer, but no matter, he's still gone through change that's made him a different person, even if it's just slightly. I feel like that's pretty similar to a "real life" coming of age process, or at least, there are parallels to my coming of age. I feel like I'm not going to have the one glorious moment like Stephen watching the bird flying, or Holden watching Phoebe on the carousel. Rather, I feel like I'm coming of age, right now, in this moment. It's a slow process, and sometimes, I don't even feel like I'm any different. But if I look back a month, two months, a year, three years, I see definite changes. Looking back, I realise how much I've grown, developed, and matured through time. I still have a ways to go (by society's standard, and personal relativity), but I think that's the point. I feel like it takes a while to realise the difference in your character, because the process is gradual and you may not even be aware that you're changing. And I'll continue to grow and change; I'll always be learning new things, and there will always be opportunities to grow and mature: become more "adult." And in a lot of years, I could be 50 and still not have my "revolutionary coming-of-age moment," but I could look back, and see how I've changed and grown, and realise that I have come of age, just slowly, gradually, and in my own time.