Revisiting teenage-dom

When I was a teenager, I let my fear of what others thought get the best of me. I was never cool by anyone’s standards, and I tried desperately to simply not draw attention to myself. I wanted to fly under the radar, unnoticed. I would never have done what I did last night.

Though I’m 25 years old, I let my inner teenager claw its way out from where it had been tucked away for nearly a decade. I donned a hand-painted T-shirt with the words “I love Edward” scrawled across the front and joined some of my favorite people for a midnight showing of teen flick “Twilight” at the cinema. And I had the time of my life, surrounded by giggling, squealing, swooning adolescents and watching ooey-gooey teen love at its finest on the silver screen.

Author Stephanie Meyer has penned four books in the “Twilight” series, and I’ve bought into her vampire/human/werewolf melodrama/romance novels hook, line and sinker. Not the most intellectually-stimulating of reading material, there’s just something raw about them that’s made them my guiltiest of pleasures. Who doesn’t love a good romance? And add the excitement of deadly vampires and werewolves into the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for success.

Earlier in the week, I purchased plain white T-shirts, paint and stencils, and I set to work. I unabashedly graffitied them with phrases like “Team Edward,” “Bella Who?” and “#1 Cullen Fan.”

Daily I browsed fan Web sites and the author’s blog. I repeatedly watched trailers for the film. I downloaded the soundtrack on iTunes and listened over and over again. I fed myself with all things “Twilight;” I figure it’s healthy for everyone to indulge in a little frivolity now and again.

And as my best friend and roommate is also a fan -- as are several coworkers, my mother and my sister – the excitement could be shared. By Thursday, I was ready to burst at the seams.

As someone with a steady “big girl” job, staying up late isn’t something I do very well anymore. So Thursday night, my roommate and I stuffed our faces with sugar and coffee. Then we pulled on our T-shirts over top of long-sleeved Ts and we met up with our girly gang.

I screamed and I danced and I yelped for joy when the moment arrived to go to the theater. Once there, we positioned ourselves amidst other “Twilight” fanatics and super-freaks.

And for two hours, I slipped away from real world problems, from work, from bigger issues, and I lusted over sexy Edward Cullen, and I allowed myself to be 15.