The joy of youth, especially the extremely young, is having no semblance or clue for the world around you.

It’s the creativity of being able to take disparate ideas, mash them together, make it a game and let it be your world for a day. The idea of fun is whatever comes to mind and eventually, you develop your own style.

For a short moment in history, you are your own person.

It then gets grounded out of you in your attempt to conform to the world. Sometimes, it happens in small doses until your personality becomes a death by a thousand cuts. Other times, it’s a giant leap, thrust upon you by no fault of your own.

It takes the rest of your life working out the crud and finding the heart of what brought you joy in the first place.

And while it may seem like an arduous journey, it’s worth every step back.