By Glorianne P. Dorce
Childhood
When we were children, we were not afraid to imagine or dream about impossibilities, like unicorns or dragons. Childhood was when imagination could grow and spread to your friends leading to make-believe and shows like "Out of the box" on PBSKids. However, like all great things, there were bruises, tears, and confusion, both on and off the playground. Although, a kind teacher, respectable parents, and fun friends lead to you dusting off the muck and going back to playing and learning about this curious world. Not to mention the people we bothered persistently until we got the answer on why there were brown spots on a banana five times only because we did not like the first four answers and knew there was a better one deep in our gut.
Privilege
As a child, we had the privilege to ask questions without fear, for society did not coin the term “That’s a dumb question” until middle school. The ones in graduate school had the privilege to go from primary through college without the pandemic. Although even high schoolers who can get laptops from the government are luckier than most since the International Telecommunication Union and UNICEF recently reported that two-thirds of the world’s school-age children have no internet access at home. In high school, some of us had the privilege to not worry about whether we would have food on the table nor whether we had to prepare dinner for our younger siblings. We got an education because our parents not only valued it but could afford the amount of time spent to invest in your education rather than paying for the house bills. After all, parents are encouraging of a better future for you no matter how often or how little they ask: “Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?” Remember, having parents is not a given and having encouraging parents that can help you is a privilege.
Roots
However, the childhood memories, and the privilege we have now while living during these turbulent times, would not be anywhere near where we are now if we did not look back at our roots. Immediately, you think of the Little Rock nine, poet Julia de Burgos, athlete Jackie Robinson, or civil rights activist Cesar Chavez and Yuri Kochiyama. This has become more prevalent in mainstream media recently, like movies: Stand and Deliver or Hidden Figures or even Season 2 Episode 13 from the Parkers. If you have not seen any of them, I highly recommend them. Honestly, the most important one is the episode the Parkers since you basically learn that the comfortable life we have today, like being able to use the thermostat, would not be possible without an African American Inventor in a comedic way. We came far, and notice the current cell phones produced are more advanced than the computer used 50 years ago, by NASA, to send people to the moon. These were all inventors and courageous people of a new world; they were curious and had the courage to dream of a better world and make it happen.
Courage
Now our predecessors having courage did not mean they were not afraid, far from it. Many faced upfront discrimination and the fear of going to jail. Some may wonder: “Why on earth do they need courage?” Here is a list: our generation facing an economy close to the Great Depression, owns less of the GDP than our parents’ generation had during our age due to the increased cost of housing and college tuition. Yeah, life is hard, some people may not believe in us, and our worst critics are ourselves: aka Imposter Syndrome. However, if we don’t lose our curiosity, we will get through it. I have had to deal with my anxiety about the future, but I have had the support. Forced isolation due to a pandemic forces me to pay attention to my own thoughts and learn to believe in myself, the benefits of not listening to others' opinions all the time. Be comfortable in your own thoughts, your childhood’s curiosity, and dream big. Remember, a person can take everything away from you except your mind. If you still don’t believe me listen to Albert Einstein, the man who was a Jew during the Holocaust period, an advocate of Civil rights, Racial rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights, and the man that stated: “Have the courage to take your own thoughts seriously, for they will shape you."
Don’t Lose Your Curiosity.
Edited by Rachel Alvarado
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