A Loss of Innocence

Do you remember when you lost your innocence? I do. It came in three stages for me, the first two parts happening in high school and the final stage in college. The first came as I learned that life was than a mold that I needed to fit into. I felt the depth of knowledge I was gaining through my new perspective of critical thinking. I didn’t have to accept everything that I heard. I learned to decipher and analyze information. From then on, the straight narrow box through which I saw things was blown apart.

The second part came March 19^th 2003. I was in Language Arts class when our normally scheduled class was canceled to watch the start of the Iraq War. It was night time in Bagdad as CNN’s night vision cameras displayed thousands of missiles soaring through the night sky, pouring into the city. It was surreal to see bombs look like fireworks and know that when they would land they would indiscriminately kill everything around. As we sat quietly in class watching the entertainment, I found myself sinking deeper into my chair than ever before. I was astonished at the lack of humanity. I would say this was the first time I started to develop political opinions. It just seemed wrong regardless of how much bad has been created to kill so many people.

The last bit of naiveté I had was lost in August/ September 2005. I was in my first semester of college. Katrina had hit and reports started to come in about the devastation. I remember sitting in my Peace Studies class constructing a strong argument as to how the government was going to help people affected by the hurricane. I thought I had represented the point well that day, even mentioning the fact that we even turned down help from other countries. It quickly turned out I was wrong. Day after day passed as chaos took over New Orleans temporarily, images of people on their roofs waiting to be saved dragged on day after day. We’re not saints.

Life has seemed cyclical lately, similar concepts to those I wrestled with first starting my journey are reemerging. I have recently thought back to how I got here today and can say that these three events shifted my life significantly. Taking me to place of consideration I had never been before. What has brought you here?