I can remember back to my days of loving Seventeen Magazine in high school. I can even recollect buying my first issue. I do believe it was one of my favorite magazines of all time; maybe because it was something to escape into during the trials and tribulations of my teenage years. Or, maybe it was the excitement of receiving something in the mail that was only for me and how special it made me feel. The best issue had to be the one that always comes out around March that showcased new collections of prom gowns. I can recall browsing over pages of beautiful dresses and fantasizing what they would look like on me, which was my favorite and who my date would be.
Eventually, all good things had to come to an end. Somewhere in the blur of my college days I had put away the Seventeen Magazine for good. Stories about “Craziest Nail Looks” or “10 Kissing Secrets you don’t Know” did not hold my interest as much as they used to. Now that I had become a “modern, independent woman”, I needed a magazine that would better fit my needs. It was then that I entered the world of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Self, and Vogue and did not look back. Some of my favorite topics revolved around fashion, losing weight, fun quizzes, beauty trends, boyfriend and career advice, and bikini-ready bodies.
I believe it was in my early 30’s when Cosmopolitan was the first to leave my life. All of a sudden, I realized that I had nothing in common with the articles or women they featured each month and that I had outgrown yet another magazine. I believed (and still believe) much of what was featured in Cosmo was centered on men and what they were thinking and feeling. Articles such as, “10 Things he’s Thinking when you’re Crying” or “You know he Loves you When…” did not appeal to me anymore nor did they address any of the issues that I, as a woman was going through. I felt this magazine put too much emphasis on being in a relationship or living our lives according to what men thought of us. What if we were single and not looking or, what if we were in a serious relationship, free from the games and the “what-ifs”?
This was also at a time when I was living in Kuwait and most of the articles and pictures were either torn out or blacked out. Furthermore, due to the high cost of magazines, I wanted to make sure what I was purchasing was worth my hard-earned money. And finally, I was in a serious relationship and way beyond all the dating and “boyfriend no-no’s”! Yet, it did kind of hurt in some ways that these magazines that had once gotten me through so many years of my life did not appeal to me anymore. I was worried that I was getting old and boring!
In the meanwhile, I still held on to my Glamour and my Marie Claire Magazines. These were the last to go. My latest Glamour issue was purchased in February of 2011 and I just bought it without looking at the cover’s articles until I got home. Once I glanced through it, I just sighed… It confirmed what I had been feeling off and on throughout my thirties: that another magazine for me has bitten the dust. I had slowly lost my connection with what is going on in Glamour world. Articles such as “29 Things he’s Thinking when you’re Naked”, “How to Fake Perfect Skin in 30 Seconds”, and “The 10 Most Glam Wardrobe Items Ever” are in another realm of the universe; so far from where I am in the present moment. The sad thing is that I only get these magazines now and then as treats since the prices of magazines are so expensive in the Middle East. Even if I look at them as “cheesy” entertainment or as a “guilty pleasure”-I am not enjoying them the way I used to.
I think I have to face the music and read magazines that fit my interests and lifestyle more. I am still trying to figure out which ones they are but maybe that is part of the fun of it all. Although I am not ready for Better Homes and Gardens or Good Housekeeping, magazines such as Oprah Winfrey’s O, Redbook, Travel and Leisure and Time still catch my interest and I doubt that will ever change. Maybe it is not so much as getting older and outgrowing things but finding out more of who we are and what we are becoming. It is all part of the adventure of life!
