Summer’s Free Jail
Life is not the four corner’s of a room.
Everyone has had that infuriating thought. Usually, when our movements were at its best, skin soft, and laughter always in the air.
Whether like a law-abiding citizen, the house decree prohibits leaving. Perhaps like a prisoner, confined within a prison for his mistakes and immoral deeds. We have all been locked inside our homes.
Waking up with a miserable sigh, feeling numb in every finger and toe, and slowly melting along the couch, hoping time would just grant us one wish…to get by faster and go outside.
I was once that child too.
Growing up confined within the boundaries of your house lot was not such a fun thing. Each day was run on auto-pilot.
I’d wake up and see a sliver of light hit my face. I would carry myself to the couch and stare at our empty but treasured, blank wall. Upon being recognized for my endless day-dreaming, I slowly get up and move myself towards the dining table greeted by my friend, rice and some sausage.
“Ah the usual”, I used to say.
After consuming my tasteless meal, I find the energy to walk myself to my parent’s room. At that time, I believed I stood in the midst of the world’s best time-passer, the TV.
There I would slowly rot my brain for the entirety of the summer.
As I reminisce life, back then I was not totally mad all the time as I had my precious TV. However, I felt like I had missed a big part of my life to that machine.
Don’t spend too much time on your phone kids!
Being bored and lifeless all day was not the only side effect. Because I was caged inside, it took me a while to adjust outside.
Transitioning into the realm of teens and puberty, a big part of that reality is independence.
Here, a child really learns to accept responsibility, traverse the ropes of life, and adjust to society. Except I couldn’t.
While other kids would go out and play in the nearby river, I would be stuck at home.
To this day, I feel the effects of my prolonged stay at home. I feel like a naive grade schooler learning how to move through the jungle of life.
I sometimes make the wrong move. All eyes turn to me and I’m drenched in complete embarrassment.
Despite the circumstances brought upon me, I have recently reconciled with the restrictions and believe it actaully was right.
Why would I ever say that??? Are you insane??
I know the little cute version of me would give me a face of disgust and try to snap me out of that ideology. However as I got older and more aware of the world around me, I have found the morals and teaching my parents gave to me most helpful.
Its normal to feel that your parents are going against you but it is for the greater good of all.
I began to understand that staying inside was not meant to limit my capabilities as a person but as a mold, built in the image and likeness of my parents.
I recognized some things that was wrong to me but right (socially accepted) by others and vice-verse. Being able to compare the norms to traditions is what I believe to be my advantage.
Although I still have a lot to learn from the world, I feel equipped with the sharp and shiny tools my parents gave me, ready to take on whatever life gives.
Because without them, I would be stuck in a real jail cell.
That is why our jail at home is a free one.
Because living through life becomes more free when you have the right equipment with you. To make more tools, make new memories with others, and forge a path in this world.
Shout out to all dad and moms out there!
— Jerome K.
