Maturity?

Have you ever watched a movie that touched you in some strange way? That may sound incredibly cliche, but today I watched two movies (shocking for a millennial, right?). One movie had me crying to the point of hiccups because of a time-traveling man who died, leaving his wife and daughter. The other had me giddy at a teenager meeting her father and having her family reunite.

Let’s be realistic here: I felt two intense feelings from two astoundingly different movies. Why? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there’s a problem with the movie industry, but why is it that we push down these feelings in our daily lives? Let me rephrase: why is it that I push down these feelings in my daily life?

As children we are overzealous, but I’d like to think that as children we know who we are. Better yet, we may not consciously know who we are, but we are undoubtedly ourselves. As children we cry when we’re upset, laugh when happy, yell when mad. We hug our family and friends when wanting affection, and h**l, we even hug strangers. So who tells us this isn’t okay anymore, especially when it’s our instinct?

My theory is that as children, we are unapologetically ourselves and as we grow, we mold into our surroundings, and maybe lose ourselves in the process. Definitely lose ourselves in the process. Then—when we are deemed old enough—we must dive into the world and discover these so-called passions we never really knew we had. Again, maybe that’s just me.

But you see, I believe life guides us to where we need to be as long as we do not resist. So here I am: allowing life to guide me, beginning with this blog. Here’s to crying when I’m sad and laughing when I’m happy.

Here’s to hugging strangers.