GIRLHOOD ISN’T A PHASE, IT’S A SEASON YOU RETURN TO

There are days when my nostalgic girlhood sneaks up on me in the most ridiculous ways. Like when I’m standing in the perfume aisle, smelling every bottle because I’m convinced each one will unlock a different personality in me. Or when I watch myself skipping over the sidewalk cracks for absolutely no reason. Or even when I spend hours in Sephora because I’m looking for the perfect pink lipstick.   

The fun thing is that girlhood has never really ended. It’s less like a childhood chapter that closed behind me, and more like a season I unexpectedly slipped into. It’a almost like a warm day in March that reminds me that spring is waiting for me around the corner.   

Girlhood is in the way of my best friend and I holding hands together in the grocery store for no particular reason. It’s in the glittery eye shadow I keep “just in case.” It’s in the way I still get shy around women I admire, like I’m twelve again and meeting my favourite Disney Channel star. It’s in the irrational confidence that wearing a lacy pink bow will fix all my problems.   

 For some reason, it’s funny to me how loud adulthood can be. Deadlines, rent, and the “have you figured out your five-year plan?” comments. But girlhood? Girlhood whispers. It tells me to wear those pink socks even though no one will see them.   

 Maybe that is why we keep returning to it. Not because we’re trying to travel back in time, but because girlhood holds the parts of ourselves we refuse to give up: wonder, tenderness, ridiculous optimism. 

I think girlhood is a beautiful season that comes back when you need it most. When life feels heavy. When you catch yourself being too strict with your own heart. When you forget that you’re allowed to find joy in the little things, like butterfly clips, or the way your friend’s voice goes up an octave when she’s excited.

Girlhood is the scarf you find at the back of your closet and think—oh, I remember how I felt when I wore this. And then when you wrap yourself in it again, it fits differently, but still fits. Maybe growing up doesn’t mean leaving our treasured girlhood behind. Maybe it just means learning how to return to it with intention. Choosing softness even when the world wants you sharp. Letting yourself believe in the little things that don’t seem to make sense. 

Laugh loudly. Love dramatically.

Cry for no reason except for the fact that the moon looked a little too pretty tonight.   

Girlhood will never just be a phase, but serves as a season. Like all seasons, it cycles back. In glitter, in warmth, in chaos, in joy. Whenever you’re ready to step into it again, it will be there.   

• coming of age
• Experiences
• girlhood
• growing up
• love