Alana Is Reading

As I get (painfully, much much) older, I’m noticing that whether I like it or not, I am an adult.

The one thing that I think defines adulthood is not having sex or even getting married or having kids. The one thing that makes me an adult is that I know what I believe, and I no longer feel threatened by those who disagree.

When I was a kid, I could hate someone purely based on them not liking a band that I like. Actual, venomous hate simply because we didn’t share the same taste in music. If someone believed in a different religion or politics, I would instantly think less of them as people, and in some cases even view them as somehow less human than me. By seeing them as not as human as myself, I could tease them, bully them, call them names and treat them as unwanted objects simply because they didn’t agree with me.

Then I grew up. I changed some of my own opinions on things, and realized that in doing so, I did not become less of a person. It doesn’t mean that I agree with everyone. I still think that The Monkees were awesome and that Jesus is the Son of God. If you don’t agree, that’s not my problem. If you want to view me as less than human because you disagree with me, that is also not my problem. If you feel a need to resort to name-calling and rudeness over a simple disagreement, I know that you can’t help it. You’re still just a child.

I only hope that if you are still a child that you try to grow up someday. Life is a lot easier once you stop taking everything personally.