When did every birthday stop feeling like "the best birthday ever"?

When did Christmas start to feel less of "holy cow presents!" And more "oh god family obligations”?

When did we start giving into the sad fact that our childhoods are being ripped away from us? And it's not as slowly as we first thought it was going to be.

It was promised to us that we were going to be able to live in a world where we were respected, and have the same opportunities to do well just like the generations before us.

Now look where we are.

Most of us won't be able to afford to ever live in our own home because our college tuitions cost so much that our loans are heinous.

College tuitions that were forced to have to pay because in this current economy, no one is hired unless they have at least a bachelor's degree.

And even then, it's not a guarantee.

When did wearing all black become our go to because wearing colours didn't seem to fit anymore?

And why don’t colours fit anymore?

I remember when the most popular kid in the school was the person who was able to bring an entire briefcase full of markers and crayons and coloured pencils.

And how we used to flock to them and ask if we could use their colours for our own projects and they’d always share with us.

Now we flock to the person who remembered to bring a pencil to class, usually only to see if they have any extra.

And they don’t.

And so it feels like no matter how hard we seem to try and shake off the “perfect little soldiers of capitalism and institutionalized oppression” that the former generations are trying to train us into being, they keep pushing and pushing.

It’s scary.

Because sometimes we give in.

And it works.

When ignorance stop being bliss?

When did it become one of the the most bullied aspect of our society?

Why did we start punishing people for not knowing things instead of giving them the opportunity to be educated and have the chance to grow?

Why did having to wake up and have the facts feel like being hit with the hot part of the pan from a ten year coma?

Why did we have to grow up so fast?

Children these days are having more lives in 17 years than some are having in 47.

These kids know more about our politics than our politicians.

But when we voice things, we’re told to sit down and shut up.

We could be helping.

But we’re being urged not to.

And it’s not only by the different generations before us.

We’re pitting each other against ourselves and it’s like a battle to the finish of who’s the best and who’s gonna kill the rest.

It’s the Lord of the Flies out there.

And so many of us are blindly following Jack.

We’ve lost sight of our Ralph.

We’ve lost sight of our sense of community.