As you progress from childhood to adolescence, and so on towards adulthood, the parts of your body continue to grow and change. Arms get longer, legs grow taller, feet increase in size. However, it can be said that the most important changes stumbled upon during aging are the growth of the mind, and the opening of the eyes to see the surrounding world.
As a child, the goal was to make everything as perfect as possible, though this was left up to the adults that cared for you. Hardships were few and far between, and the biggest worry was making it to the bathroom on time, or hoping Santa didn’t give you coal that year. You may not have realized it at the time, but the first few years of your life are the easiest years you would have for a long, long time. In kindergarten, the conflicts taking place were stupid (yet oh so important at the time) squabbles that, if we were to remember them now, would probably be looked back upon and laughed at. But our eyes were shut tight and covered by our hands then, adamantly refusing to be anything but oblivious to the world around us. First grade, the conflicts decreased in quantity, and increased in significance by an infinitesimal amount. This process continued, so on until around sixth or seventh grade, when the “squabbles” became fights, and the fights became arguments, which progressed into feuds. Even then, most of it was over young, flimsy things such as calculators, homework, projects, sports, et cetera. However, in the minority were the makings of what was to come in the future: rumors, drama, things such as these that we as a group would have to deal with for the rest of our years spent in school, and forever after that. Eighth grade is when it all truly begins. This is the year where we step across the threshold onto the side of adolescence, and once this has occurred, the door shuts and locks behind us, forbidding us from turning back and forcing us forward. By now, our hands have been ripped away from our eyes, so even if our eyelids still blind us from the world, its light seeps through. Though no one wants to admit it, we all secretly have “friends” who really aren’t our friends, but they’re funny, or they’re rich, or they’re fun to make fun of behind their backs, or they’re mean and being friends with them is the only way to stay out of their war path. Either way, we use these people, and these people become topics for discussion with our “true” friends, who in reality may be in turn using us. You may wonder who they really are, behind their lies and gossip, telling tales of others you don’t truly believe but agree with anyway, because it would be unacceptable to say otherwise. Once this is realized, your one eye opens the teeniest bit, giving you a glimpse of the true world around you before your mind panics and the eye snaps shut once again. Nevertheless, as the conflicts continue, the rumors spread, and the arguments escalate, you begin to wonder what it’s really like around you, and your eyes eventually flutter open, squinting in the bright sunlight that you’ve never truly experienced before. After your eyes have full view of the surrounding landscape, it is much easier to tiptoe around the mines that, if stepped on, would become arguments. You may stumble a few times as your eyes struggle to interpret the meaning of your surroundings, but there are far fewer falls than you had while you were blind. You see people you thought you knew, now fully exposed to your judgement, and they become simpler to understand, yet at the same time oh so much more difficult. Yes, this world you can see is harsh and sharp, with every turn a possibility for yet another reason for resentment by your peers, but this is the world you live in. People are gossipy and backstabbing, and you are no better, no matter how much you tell yourself otherwise. Yet this is the human race’s nature, preying upon the weak to gain favor, and the sooner your eyes open to that, the safer you are. “Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
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