The Innocence of Youth

People, of course, are aware of the ignorance of adolescence, but the extremes of which it sometimes occurs in hit me the other day. Sometimes, children, perhaps for the better, are completely unaware of their surroundings and miss very serious issues. For instance, I grew up in a middle class neighborhood in an Ohio suburb, cut off from main roads and society in general. Outside of our neighborhood was a road connecting to the main road through our town. This side road was crammed full of tiny houses. I was always aware of the money gap between my neighborhood and the houses on this road, simply because of the obvious size difference. However, until very recently, I never realized the severity of those kids' condition. The sad thing in life is that poverty usually has a story, and often times the tale is rather poignant.

In particular, I never realized the gravity of one boy's situation from this side street. We will call him Jeffrey for the story's sake. Jeffrey was a small boy from this side street who often biked into our neighborhood to play basketball with our group of neighbors. Jeffrey told us bits and parts of his home life, and I never stitched the story together until a few days ago (years and years later). I think a lot of the gaps in his information were due to his own naivety, but mine as well. Jeffrey told us that his dad was a trucker, so he hadn't seen him in a while but was looking forward to his next visit home. Jeffrey informed us that he lived with his mom and sister  in the tiny basement of another family's home. Coincidentally, the other family did not have a mother. Jeffrey never did see his father in the time that we knew him, and in my little kid mind, I assumed that truckers were just busy. My innocence never even realized the possibilty of a man leaving his family. However, with my age, I've come to realize that Jeffrey's father left- whether it be by choice or God's time. I realized this due to the increase of Jeffrey's house... What I mean is that Jeffrey's house is now 3 times the size it used to be, and he has more young siblings now. Jeffrey lives the Brady Bunch tale. His dad left. His mom fell in love with a man whose wife left. Together they started a new family. I knew Jeffrey during the heat of this situation though. I knew him during the time where he himself was in denial of his dad's absence and was having trouble adapting to his new home situation. I never even knew this until 10 years later. I wish I was aware of the situation in the moment and could have lent a helping hand to the kid who was possibly suffering in his own mind. I assume he is good now, and happy with his growing family and now big house on the tiny road, but sometimes I still wonder about Jeffrey and if his childhood trauma ever messed with his head.

It scares me, yet comforts me, the innocence of youth. Are children protected, or neglected? Perhaps it is better that we do not realize the dire situations that we or others are sometimes (unfortunately) placed in at such a young age. But perhaps it also screws with our mental health. When you can't face a situation and deal with and grow from it, does it harm you, or protect you? Is it better to be numb, or to feel, so that you can help yourself grow? Is ignorance truly bliss, or does it restrict the human mind to develop in a healthy way to help us deal with upcoming life situations?

Food for Thought.