Do I miss it?
Yes and no.
I don’t miss
being patronised,
picked on,
infantilised.
But I do miss
my freedom—
not physical freedom,
mental freedom.
Before my mind was locked down,
confined in the world’s chains,
conformed by society,
placed in a little box
that turns us,
inevitably,
insane.
I was 11 years old—
older than the little kids,
still a kid to the big ones,
but I felt quite big,
and happy,
with a free-formed mind,
not knowing what was to come.
Not recognising
their tired eyes,
arms drooping—
not just with the weight of folders,
but with the weight of life.
Not recognising it
because I couldn’t.
I hadn’t known
the pressure,
the pain,
society’s great expectations.
Not at 11 years old.
Mar 23
Mar 23, 2026 at 4:12 PM UTC
Do I miss it?
Yes and no.
I don’t miss
being patronised,
picked on,
infantilised.
But I do miss
my freedom—
not physical freedom,
mental freedom.
Before my mind was locked down,
confined in the world’s chains,
conformed by society,
placed in a little box
that turns us,
inevitably,
insane.
I was 11 years old—
older than the little kids,
still a kid to the big ones,
but I felt quite big,
and happy,
with a free-formed mind,
not knowing what was to come.
Not recognising
their tired eyes,
arms drooping—
not just with the weight of folders,
but with the weight of life.
Not recognising it
because I couldn’t.
I hadn’t known
the pressure,
the pain,
society’s great expectations.
Not at 11 years old.
would you go back if you could?
