Why won't you explain what you mean?
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How do you teach kids to become the men and women you hope they become if you don't explain why you're doing what you're doing?
How can you make sure that someone truly understands what you're saying if you don't have a conversation about the subject after the fact?
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Too many times I was told to do as I say, not as I do, but I didn't understand either and was expected to keep moving forward.
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All my life, I can remember asking people lots of questions. I don't always like what people say, and I might not agree with the answers, but I'm always happy when I hear something, since I feel like it beats being ignored.
. To be clear, I don't mean yes-or-no type responses. I mean I'm happy when someone takes the time to talk about something, and I'm never disappointed to learn new things about people, even if we don't see eye to eye.
I have always wanted to understand what people were talking about. So, for the last couple of years, I've been trying to fight the system, trying to help some disabled friends deal with their issues, and I've been trying to map out my life story as I go along.
I grew fast as a kid, so my time being allowed to climb on or getting to be carried by certain people was cut short. I mean piggyback rides and being carried on people's shoulders. I felt like I got left out of a lot of fun because of being too large for those around me, but it was fun to carry other people around and give kids rides on my shoulders or play games like chicken in the pool once I really grew into my skin.
I can remember being told to knock it off, that I was too big, yet no one elaborated on what I should "knock off" doing, and I didn't know what being too big meant. Since other kids got to do what I wanted to do, it took years for me to learn how to backtrack my thoughts and figure things out myself. There didn't appear to be anything different going on, and no one was willing to sit or explain anything to me, so it pushed me to talk to myself in my head and debate myself about all the different possibilities.
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For the better part of my childhood, I got to stand in the corner, or stand at the sink with soap in my mouth, but it never got me to stop talking, and it never solved any problems.
Who came up with the idea of having children stand in the corner?
Did people think shame would help kids figure out their issues on their own?
It's strange to actually remember being a child around 9 years old and talking to myself in my head while standing in the corner for 30 minutes or less, maybe less at times, but it was enough for me to really start debating myself about what other people were thinking or their motivations. Though I'm sure it was more basic, it was still the start of my really analyzing everything people say and do.
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I don't understand why parents would allow kids to watch shows like the 3 stooges, but man, did I love this growing up, and that love caused me to get in trouble on more than one occasion.
In 2026, I attempted to watch Ernest Saves Christmas, but I found it so absurd that I had to shut it off. I think I lasted maybe 10 minutes before all of the accidents that were caused and then laughed at made me feel so uncomfortable that I couldn't take it anymore.
I also remember watching The Good Son and laughing when Mr. Highway was tossed off a bridge and caused a massive accident. I can't imagine laughing at something like that as an adult, but I remember finding it hilarious as a kid.
Why wouldn't adults explain how dangerous these situations would be in real life and the consequences that would follow? Life isn't a movie; people really do get hurt by all of this, and we're not warned of how serious and reckless this behavior actually is.
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I had so many toys as a child that I didn't always know what to do with them, but I was always told to go play. But why?
At times I wonder about toys. A part of me thinks that they teach kids to be selfish. I was always told those are my toys, but also told to share with my cousins, but watch out for other neighborhood kids, but why?
Would other kids have been as rough with my toys as I was, or would they have appreciated them more because they didn't have what I had?
I also noticed a lot of adults don't play with their kids and will tell them to go play in the yard or in another area, but never use this as a teaching lesson. Why buy toys that represent things used in a war, yet won't explain what war really is?
I remember being handed things, but I don't have any memories of anyone explaining how important it is to care for items that are more fragile than others.
Looking back, I wish I had gotten to spend more time with people than I did with toys. I might have learned to entertain myself, but that didn't prepare me for the real world or help me socialize.
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I can't recall how many times I heard adults ask, "What's your problem?" and I really didn't know.
I can't recall any specific stories where I was able to figure out what these adults were talking about or where I felt I deserved the punishment I received after thinking about what I had done.
It did teach me to think about my actions, but I didn't actually do that all the time. I grew up with undiagnosed hyperthyroidism, and it caused me to have anxiety and panic attacks for no reason, which affected my behavior, grades, and relationships with others.
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How are kids or adults ever supposed to solve any of their problems or come to any new realizations when all those around them refuse to have in-depth conversations?
It took me until my late 30s to figure out I had hyperthyroidism, an issue that can be easily treated and monitored, plus a genetic muscle disorder that has no treatment or cure. My entire life was a yo-yo because no one around me knew how to document it or had the foresight to teach me how to look out for myself or explain myself in a way others could understand.
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I can't ask AI about things people haven't talked about in writing; it doesn't know what people meant when I share my stories, and it has no experiences of its own to try to base its answers on. It also doesn't have any friends' stories to reference.
The only way AI will ever be able to attempt to explain what people thought is if they start writing down all the different aspects of how they think. People need to write down why they think they care about the people around them, or when they get frustrated, and what they find most confusing. AI doesn't understand what you don't tell it.
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You can't know what you don't know?
You'll never learn what people don't tell you. Even when people do talk, they'll never tell you everything; they can't.
This has taught me to focus on the things people don't say, but I think they should. People these days get offended by everything, and I wonder if they ever stop to wonder why they're bothered.
People love yelling and screaming at each other. As I grow older, my opinion on getting angry has changed. I personally like letting people know that certain things bother me and that I'm not willing to let things go.
If something bothers me, I want to address it; I don't want to ignore anything anymore.
When people say "just let it go", where are those feelings and ideas supposed to go?
I think our emotions get shoved into a bottle and add up over time, just waiting to be released, except now it's built-up pressure. Though I could be wrong; maybe I'm just talking about myself.
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I grew up loving toys. I used to think they were the greatest, and for a time I thought they served a purpose. But now that I'm older, I see toys as a way for adults to ignore their children. I would be told countless times to go play with my toys, and I would; I loved it, but then when I was done, I found that playing didn't result in any real-world change or actions. I got to play with my toys, do my own thing, and learned nothing from the experience.
I used to think that kids played with toys together, but adults started putting price tags on items; they'd claim we needed to watch our stuff or someone would steal it. Somewhere along the line, I began to think items mattered more than people, and in order to help people, I had to give them more stuff.
I could go on and on about why I love toys as well. From their designs to the messages the characters they represent mean to me, but I still think the people who bought them for me matter more.
Toys hold mixed meanings for me, and seeing them brings back all kinds of memories.
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When I'm angry, I feel powerful, but also reckless. I don't understand why people don't talk about their emotions more or why people are encouraged to ignore them.
It's very easy to follow your feelings down the wrong path, and bottling them up leaves those feelings vulnerable to reacting to whatever situation presents itself. We all get mad at the wrong things for the wrong reasons.
I don't mind people getting upset and yelling while they're explaining their situations; I just try to help people focus that anger into something positive, but at times I also get sick of things and wish there was more I could react to. Dealing with a system designed to ignore you is infuriating at times.
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I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I am willing to keep asking and answering questions.
I’m also willing to debate my opinions while attempting to find solutions to questions and problems,
regardless of whether they affect me or not.
