IMO view: Painful truth that makes us stronger

Paper Edition | Page: 8

One afternoon I was texting with one of my friends and somehow, we ended up on the “growing up” topic.

She said that growing up sucked, and being a child was fun (well, that isn’t exactly what she said, but that pretty much sums up the point.). She said that life was so much simpler when we were seven or 10 (which is true isn’t it?)

I can still remember that as a child, the only thing that worried me was what would mom cook today? Would I be able to see my favorite TV shows? All that stuff.

The only thing that bugged me was if I missed my favorite TV show, or if my mother told me to take a bath.

A simple toy, a particular snack, or even victory in a game I played with my friends could really make my day!

To sum up: All things were bright and beautiful.

Now however, things are different. The world is almost too cruel to allow us to smile. There are too many things I need to consider and which make me confused and angry.

I must get good grades in school. There is a serious family problem (which didn’t even exist in the past). As a grown up, it takes a lot more then just a simple TV show, food, or toys to cheer us up or to make our day — girlfriends, work or school achievements, or even others’ failures. It is so difficult for us to be happy.

As a grown up, we can already see the “bad” and “cruel” parts of the world. It is as if God put a filter on our eyes that, as a child, only allowed us to see the “good” part of the world — and that filter gets broken as we grow up.

I miss being a little child; I miss being easily happy; I miss having that filter on my eyes — to live in a “sweet lie”.

But in the end, I’m not saying that I don’t want to be a grown-up — being a grown up means facing up to new challenges, being a grown up in the end demands a new perspective toward the world. Instead of using “the filter”, we are obliged to see the whole truth and cruelty, no matter how painful it is.

It sounds bad? But I’d rather take the painful truth than live in a sweet lie — because in the end, it’s the painful truth that makes us stronger — it’s the painful truth that makes us or breaks us — it’s the painful truth that shows what this world is all about.

As a grown up, we can see just that. But it doesn’t mean that I will never let the child inside me die because it is the only way for me to be thankful and grateful for the little things all around me. It’s the only reason for me to smile and be thankful and keep my head up no matter what the problems I face, it’s a reminder that there are still beautiful things in this world.

Agastya Bagaskara
Jakarta