Children are the smartest and the luckiest of our species. This is especially true if they had parents that told them they could be superman/superwoman if they wanted to and they actually started to believe it. So there a child goes, living their life as if they’re some superhero, without a single care or worry in the world; living limitlessly and defining awesomeness every single day. Then, they’re introduced to some institution, which in turn introduces them to the start of the almost real - world and give them little responsibilities like building bricks or something and doing homework. But, as they start to progress in such institutions as they get older, their superhero complex has seen some scratches but it’s still there and still vibrant. More birthdays come, and different sorts of people show up, primarily through these institutions. One day, they meet someone who tells them they’re not a superhero and that they’re delusional. One of the two life-changing things then happens: the superhero edifice breaks down, they start to question who they’ve really been all those years and deem themselves delusional OR they remain stable, flick their cape at such hate and move on.

Have you ever spoken to or seen someone so lost in hate or misery without any solid explanation and just keep wondering: “who hurt you?!” Or seen people so closed up or effortlessly standoffish that you stay reluctant to say anything? Now, I may be wrong when I say at some point the cape fell off that superhero due to some significant event or events. There are times we cancel out a whole category because one thing didn’t work out or turned out rotten or whatever. Sometimes, seeing any light at the end of the tunnel is hard, so some of us stop trying to find the light; in this case, I'm going to focus on when we give up on people.

Running right back to my opening paragraph, do you notice that kids don’t care about who they’re building sandcastles or throwing ball with? What’s important to them is that they’re playing. When people get older, they begin to see a fragmented society, walls, prejudice, pain. They suddenly find that that straight line that they’ve always known is actually not straight at all. I once watched a Kurzgesagt video that explains how we’re all so connected due to technology, social media etc. yet, so alone. And I went “….the irony!!” Like, properly digest that kind of paradox. We literally have the ability to speak to people aboard the International Space Station , 250 miles ABOVE Earth (okay, not all of us have that privilege yet) BUT STILL it’s possible because of technology. Yet loneliness is still the issue it is, even worse with COVID.

Know that I’m not saying the rules we impose on ourselves or those the government places are not necessary because they absolutely are. Without setting limits, people will do the craziest things. We have a right to be suspicious of each other: you can’t read people’s minds, sometimes people’s intentions are buried deep and reveal itself when the damage is done and etc. What I’ve been wondering on is how to sieve out the good from the bad and how far suspicion and being closed up go?

If you really understand prejudices, you would know that they are taught and not brought into this world with us. Difference is treated harshly because it’s not often understood or quite frankly given the chance to explain itself. Because people are so quick to judge, there is so much about SO MUCH that we are not learning. Earth and human diversity is so beautiful and so special but for some reason many people have a problem with it. Some people disregard and disrespect people pertaining to certain races or a certain race, and suddenly get uncomfortable when they’re around; others disrespect people pertaining to certain religions, genders etc. Some people get suspicious about people that are not like them, participating in the undermining and undervaluing of humanity’s diversity!