Confessions of a Recovering Twilight Addict

I remember hearing about Twilight in the early part of 2008. I kept reading these random posts about Twilight on Facebook here and there. At first, some of them did not even make sense. What was Team Jacob? Where was this place called Forks? Who is this chick named Bella? What is going on? I looked it up online and found out it was a book about a girl falling in love with a vampire. Of course, when first reading this, I thought, "Well, that sounds like crap. What is wrong with people?" I did decide to read it though. It was available at the library when I went in one day and I figured I would give it a shot.

I started reading the book that night. I fell in love. I promptly determined it was the greatest book I'd ever read. Something about the entire story captured me. Maybe it was the obsessiveness of it; Bella obsesses over Edward and Edward obsesses over Bella. Perhaps that is the reason why so many readers then obsess over the series. I don't know. I don't have all the answers and I will honestly never understand why everyone else loves it. I just know it spoke to me.

So that is when it all began. I had to read the next books, but they were checked out at the library. That was not good enough. I bought New Moon and Eclipse at Barnes & Noble. I could not be stopped. After that, I bought Twilight so I could read it again and then bought another copy to give to friend for her birthday. I was on a mission.

Of course, then there was the wait. Breaking Dawn wasn't out yet. It was a difficult time for me. I obsessed over how the series would end. I counted down the minutes. I planned for the midnight opening. I reserved my copy of Breaking Dawn. I lost sleep. I read Twilight over and over again. When Breaking Dawn was released, I stood in line with about a hundred teenage girls. I was, well, quite a bit older than the teens, but I will leave it at that. I was one of the first people with the book and I stayed in all weekend reading it.

Once the entire book series was over, there was a sense of relief but, yet, emptiness. I had to fill the void somehow. So then there are the other teen supernatural series: Blue Bloods, Mortal Instruments, Harry Potter, etc. Not the same but it was helpful. I still needed something more!

At long last, after much debate and excitement, Twilight the Movie was released! It was better than I expected, but not the same as the book. By this time, everyone knew I was in love with the series. So everyone I knew was going to see the movie. At first, I was elated to share something I loved so much with other people. It was so easy to strike up a conversation anywhere with anyone about Team Edward vs. Team Jacob.

I think this is probably when the obsession started hitting all new levels. I could buy Twilight merchandise everywhere, even Walmart! What a great life I was living for a while. I had all the books, an extra copy of Twilight since I wanted a "pocket size" version for my purse, the DVD, the t-shirts, the magnets, the Scene It game, the buttons, the keychains, the candy... I mean, GEEZ, did I even need the candy? It was wonderful, yet sick all at the same time. I was an addict and I had a problem. And admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?

Luckily, time is a great healer. Believe it or not, I got tired of hearing if Kristen and Rob were a couple. I mean, really! He never looked like the Edward I pictured in my head anyway. They were a couple of normal kids, not vampires. I started to get overloaded. More than anything, Twilight had been my joy! Now everyone was on the Twilight bandwagon. I will tell you one thing for sure... the bandwagon was starting the get crowded and weighted down with fans. Not to mention the supposed Twilight fans that have not even read the books. Don't talk to me about Twilight unless you've read the books! I may not be an addict anymore, but I still have my standards.

So now, here I am. It is safe to say the Twilight addiction has died off for me. I still love the book. I will always love the book. Did I need all the merchandise? Probably not. Am I getting rid of it? Of course not! Are you nuts? I still love the book. I'm a recovering addict, not a hater. So for now, I can walk past Hot Topic and my heart does not race wondering if they just got new Twilight merchandise. I am good.

After all, there is always Blue Bloods!