To Whom It May Concern:

I am hereby officially tendering my acceptance into Adulthood. I have decided that I no longer wish to be a passive element in the world. I have decided that I can, and will make a difference around me.

I am glad to understand the basic concept of keeping my body healthy. Knowing that McDonald's is not the greatest source of food, I keep my diet balanced and healthy. As a result, I think clearer and have more energy.

I keep my life simple, yet fun. I know the types of sounds, colors, and shapes that make other people happy. I use them together to make stories, music, and picture that cause people to think, smile, or cry. I'm glad that I understand now how the bitter things that people say to each other should not be taken to heart. That there is no need to start a fight, or be hurt when somebody gets emotional.

It is good that I understand that the world is not filled with people like me, people who wish for things to be a better place. I can be wary of danger, and keep myself protected from the people who look for trouble, or have a low regard for life. I'm happy because now I understand, and have the power to reach out into other people's lives and change them forever. I no longer have no understanding of the minds behind the eyes of the people I see. I can love, share, or even hurt when hurting needs to be done. Being able to help those around is the greatest gift I've ever learned.

I know my limitations, but I do not regret them. I work with them and use them as strengths. Where before, as a child I did not see my limits and I would seek paths in life that lead nowhere. Now, the mist has cleared and I can see where I'm going (better).

Somewhere in my youth...I changed, and I grew. I became bitter because I knew too much, and I lashed out at the system that thought me, and the parents who were supposed to protect me but were powerless to do so. I saw many things that brought tears to my eyes. With sad words perched upon the edges of my lips, stuck in limbo between the past and the present.

Death became a reality, something I would soon face. It even became something I wished for, from time to time. Where were the days when Death was just a word, right?

Somewhere in my youth...I changed again. The puzzle pieces stayed the same, but I began to look at them differently. I learned to smile again, and to see that the system did not even know that I existed. How could I have been so angry at something that is just as benign as a tree or a rock. Just as I hated the rock I tripped over as a child, and the system that befouled me as a young mind, I now look at both and smile.

My parents, those ones who betrayed me and could not protect me from reality? I saw them standing back there waiting for me. I thought for sure they would have left by now, long angry at their son who had rejected them years ago. No, they stand like they always have, waiting for me to return. Ready to be a friend again.

The world is changing around me, some of us are caught up in the wrong things, and some of us have our heads screwed on right. This is how it has always been, and always will be. It is times like this when I raise my tea cup to the sun, watching the light shine through on my face in Earl Gray tones. I smile and I am thankful for the nasty, dirty world I live in. Because just around every corner there is a view that would knock your socks off. Just around every corner there are people who are the same as you, happy, troubled sometimes, caring, intelligent.

I am glad that now I can find these people, and begin life all over again. Maybe we'll have a lemonaide stand set up for you, afterall, we are never truly adults. That is just a myth. :)

Author, Yours Truly

.:.
Ioa Petra'ka