My Reflection in a Book by Caitlyn

My Reflection in a Book by Caitlyn - June 2022 Scholarship Essay

My favorite book is Twelve by Lauren Myracle, which is a part of The Winnie Years series, a coming-of-age saga about Winnie who goes through the stages of growing up. This series meant so much to me because I was the same age as Winnie when I started reading the series.

The main impact this book had on me stemmed from Winnie's friendships with her friends and family. Winnie's internal struggle is the lost relationship with her childhood friend and the formation of her new relationships. She sees one friend as wanting to be grown and mature and her other friend as wanting to stay the same which creates another struggle of not knowing where she belongs. I related to this struggle because I had to move to a new state and had to make new friends. My old friends and I promised to stay in touch, but I realized very soon that I was always the one to initiate phone calls and text conversations. It was hard to recognize that I lost those relationships like Winnie did, and I saw myself having friends who wanted things to stay the same while others wanted more experiences as we entered our teenage years. Winnie also constantly has the pressure from her parents to be the agreeable sibling, to always take responsibility and be the bigger person. I had to be this sibling when I was a child, even though I was the youngest. It was nice to finally see that frustration written into words; not wanting to always give in and knowing that if you don't, then there will be even more conflict.

I learned that I was not really alone in experiencing my frustrations and hardships, whether they were big or small. Winnie is a reflection of who I am and it was relieving to see myself in a way that other people would relate to and read about as well.