Dear adults, I know you have had your work cut out bringing us up, pushing us onwards on the right track and pulling us back from traversing the wrong ones. You mixed in us just the right amount of goodness, with a trace of fire, a hint of mischief and made the perfect blend of happy memories and a bright future. There’s so much you have taught us, from trudging our first steps, to winning sports championships; from speaking our first syllable to excelling at oration; from reading our first word to topping competitive exams.
But there’s so much I wish you had taught us. I wish you had shown us that there was more to life than our sheltered upbringing. I wish you had told us, that life is not always fair and not everyone reaps the benefits of the good they sow. I wish that along with the stories of fairies, mermaids and unicorns, you had mixed stories of politicians, murderers, terrorists and fanatics. And I wish like anything, that we kids didn’t have to be disillusioned in a snap, that with just a toe in the outside world, we did not have to find that life is not always about cupcakes and rainbows.
Dear adults, I believe that it’s time you started telling your daughters “women don’t cry” and started telling your sons that emotions are a part of every living being. It’s time you started teaching your daughters to fend for themselves instead of waiting to be rescued by their prince charming and your sons, to respect them. It’s time you told them that a rope around their neck won’t solve their problem. It’s time you told them how amazing, how unique they are, how they truly are god’s gifts, sent as tiny bundles of joy. It’s time you took out some time to talk to them, to answer their lists of seemingly endless questions. It’s time we celebrated children’s day.
Khushi Singh
XII A
