“Why, why don’t they understand?”
“And by ‘they’ you mean?”
“Everyone—the whole lot of them—parents, students, principals, politicians.”
“Many do understand, but they don’t realize what it means.”
“Hell, I don’t even know if I know what it means anymore.”
“Ok, let’s go back to the beginning.”
“The beginning? Where the hell was that?”
“All the way back…to first memory.”
“Sense and wonder, emotion and family.”
“Now go to the next.”
“Curiosity and endeavor.”
“Now just a little further.”
“A playground, children laughing, colored paper, paste and scissors.”
“You’re almost there…just a little further.”
“Sitting in an uncomfortable chair, feeling awkward, confused, lonely.”
“Good. Now how is that any different from anyone else?”
“It isn’t, I guess.”
“And how long did all of them, and you, sit in those uncomfortable chairs, feeling awkward, confused, and lonely.”
“Sixteen years, give or take a year near the end.”
“And you expect people to realize?”
“Well…”
“You yourself barely realize it.”
“But I do. The mind is malleable, the person able to be cultivated, the human heart and spirit are able to change- -to grow.”
“And you expect to do that by keeping them in chairs, feeling awkward?”
“No…but they won’t let me change it.”
“They?”
“Everybody—their parents, the principals, the politicians.”
“Did you do this for their approval?”
“No, but I need to eat, I have a family.”
“Are you happy with the world we live in?”
“No.”
“Then find a way.”
[source / from reddit user riddlingdark]
