Before we learned to do taxes and how to manage our finances, we all spoke a secret language, made entirely out of our curiosity and whimsy. So, exactly when did we forget how to speak it? When we were kids, imagination fueled our curiosity. It was everything that made us ourselves, so why did this whimsy leave in the first place?
As kids grow up, society forces them into boxes: societal pressure, family pressure, school pressure. Everyone is forcing them to be better, but sometimes they are just confused about what they really want to do. Stereotypes are fixed beliefs that generalize something among a group of people while ignoring personal differences. Stereotypes rule our society these days. Men, women, everyone is affected by them. Stereotypes force children to be someone they never wanted to be. They teach them that everything that used to be normal before is childish or immature now. Many adults end up hiding their true selves because of societal pressure and norms.
As we grow up, the burden of responsibility rests on our shoulders, and we get so caught up with life and its changes that we forget the thing that brought us so far in the first place, the thing that kept us alive and full of joy. I think we forget that life isn’t just black coffee, stale bread, and suffering. Life is so much more than the pressure society puts on us, the expectations of everyone else, or even our own insecurities. I think we spend so long surviving that we forget what it feels like to live. And I think not knowing how to live is okay, that being confused is okay, because I guess we all are a little confused by the disorienting changes in life. I think that’s what true maturity is: learning to live while still understanding the struggles of those who cannot, because not everyone knows how to bear the burden of responsibility.
Ever since I was a kid, I have always seen people telling kids to be realistic, and I think the sentence “be realistic” is subjective. The word “realistic” is different for everyone. It disappoints ambitious kids who want to make a change in the world and are disheartened because, according to society, their dreams aren’t practical. Society has a different idea of what’s realistic and achievable, and I think that’s the main difference between an adult and a child: an adult believes that life is bitter and sorrowful, which is correct, but a child believes life can be joyful and whimsical, which is also correct. I believe both are right. Life can be hard, but if one can persevere through hard times and still find the strength to come out as a kind person who doesn’t dim other people’s lights, then I think that’s what the real achievement is: that you don’t let the dark destroy you, but rather, you learn that a star cannot truly shine without it.
I think it’s important to never lose your spark, even when others dim it. So now the real question is: in the time we spent growing up and learning what’s immature, what’s cringe, what makes other people happy, and learning how to survive these stereotypes that rule our society, did we forget what it feels like to live without constantly doing what’s appealing to others?
Written by: Anaya Ali Shah – 6B