If my 12 year old kid starts talking about the political and economical state of the world, should I be happy for him as a parent?
Understanding one’s responsibilities and addressing them dutifully requires one to strip off his/her ignorance of the real world.
While writing the above paragraph alone, I just wondered if I should write ‘his/her/they’ instead of ‘his/her’ since I am aware that there is a community of people that use the pronoun. That is what awareness of the outside world does.
It overcomplicates everything for someone who just wants to put structure to their thought in public. Every single action or word has to be chosen wisely because you know there’s a butterfly effect to everything.
A 12 year old who got stripped of his ignorance of the real world just because he hung a little more with older people has a hard time putting personal wants and problems in a larger perspective than the global wants and problems.
He starts taking a minute gap to form sentences hoping that he doesn’t offend anyone. He, then, moves on to completing one task to another thinking that it is his responsibility to do so. He becomes a sprinter that only runs in his own lane trying to beat his own personal records.
For the outside world, he starts looking like an achiever or doer. The kid gets an early confidence boost because he ‘knows more’ and has ‘done more’ than his peer. But, achievements or hitting milestones doesn’t mean anything to anyone when that kid reaches 30.
Sure, the kid could make a ton of money when he is young. But the function of his life isn’t to make money as a kid or worry about how to reduce petrol taxes by advising the government when he is older.
Swap out the number 12 with your age and be okay with being a dumb kid who is still somewhat responsible.
Trying to be smart and responsible is a terrible combo. You lose your ability to express yourself in the process.
Be dumb, kid. Because someday, you won’t be able to even if you try. You can fake it though; just not really well.