From Childhood to The Real World

Life is a long series of discrete events, all leading to one all-important discovery.

Childhood was the time of innocence. At that age, concerns were limited to not being allowed to play after dark, not getting what you wanted at the mall or being forced to sleep early by your parents. I experienced all three. That time seemed so long ago J

“What do you want to be when you grow up” was one frequent question I heard when I was in elementary school. The answers varied from 1 child to the next. “I want to be a doctor” “I want to be a fireman!” & “I want to be a teacher.”

To be honest, I never really knew what to answer. “Teacher” “Nurse” “Social Worker”… ironically, my choice of career now is the last one. But I never really liked that question because thinking of it now “what kind of question is that to ask a child about?”

Next came the teenage years- every parent’s worst nightmare—although they’ll never admit to it. Each individual begins a process of self exploration. Peer pressure is so very common during this time & more often than not people go with the crowd. Some people though choose to stand out & be themselves rather than being one of the herd. Maybe or maybe not, they faced ridicule for being “weird”, “strange” or a “freak”.

Navigating the hallways of middle school & high school teaches you something: Have a goal, make a plan & then execute it to achieve desired goal. There will be hurdles and you have to be prepared to overcome them because achieving your goal is the most important thing.

Something that teachers and guidance counselors don’t tell you, or at least not bluntly, is that life can be harsh to good people & be good to undeserving people.

During this stage, sometimes people will get in your way of achieving your aspirations and goals. For whatever reason they justify for doing hat, do not let it deter you. Some people get a kick for pulling people down with them. With these types of people, it’s best to ignore them. Be better than them, raise your head high & keep moving forward.

  

Now fast forward a few years—graduating high school & then graduating university or college. “The Real World.” The Real World can either be a huge slap in the face, if you’re not prepared, or it can be what you’ve waited to experience for so long.

The Real World always has twists and turns, detours and U-turns.

With so many responsibilities: working to pay bills-rent, utilities, mortgage, cable, TV, phone, cell and so forth. It’s easy to get stressed out. It’s easy to burn out. It’s easy to want to go back in time & rewind to the care-free days. And it’s easy to become overwhelmed by your problems. It’s easy to become distant from others. Never mind your close neighbours, but from people around the globe. And this fits perfectly into the plan of various groups, who shall remain nameless for now, who want individuals to remain individualistic with no room or thought for a people’s movement—A People’s Movement for justice, for peace, for human rights & lastly, freedom for illegally occupied nations.

What was once a dream is now becoming a reality