Who am I ?

It's true to say, I (secret character) wasn't born in your era. I (secret character) somehow missed out on communicating through a rotary phone, until the phone clicked, indicating there was an important call on the other line, requiring me to cut the conversation short.

I (secret character) do not know what it is like to fight over the remote. as siblings argue who gets to watch their favorite show that evening. I own both my own phone, as well as my own tv. Even if I (secret character) was to miss my favorite program, there is a thing called On Demand, that allows me to watch it in the future, the opportunity to watch it is not forever lost.

I (secret character) never knew what it felt like to wait for my favorite song to come on the radio, so I can press play and tape it on my boombox. I (secret character) can download any song, any hour and listen to it for free! I (SC)never had to purchase an entire CD, only to find out only one of my favorite songs from that artist isn't on the one I bought, forcing me to have to purchase an additional CD, in order to gain access to the other.

I (SC)will never be charged a late fee for returning a movie to the video store late, because I fell asleep, and never watched it the night before it was due back. Video store? What is that?

If I (SC)fall asleep to a movie, that same movie will still be available the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, for just $7.99 a month for an app on my phone or smart tv. Letters from friends never get lost in the mail, for we have email, so the letter could always be resent. Unless of course, they get erased, like Hilary's did! Whatever that means! Don't ask me, I am just a kid!

I (SC)do not put quarters in a juke box, pinball machine or arcade game at the local diner or convenience store. I (SC) never purchased Jolly Ranchers for 5 cents apiece or beg my mom for a quarter for a gumball, while she purchases our family's groceries at the register.

You might find me (the secret character in this story) very fortunate. My generation has luxuries that yours (my audience) growing up as a kid did not. However, I (the secret character) would gladly trade every single one of those modern technology comforts for a childhood free of COVID lockdowns, scary riots in the streets fighting over issues that divide. Being anxious, as I make friends at school, that I may offend a classmate for calling him or her, they or them, the wrong gender pronoun, or hated for accidently mentioning Jesus Christ in the middle of a conversation at school.

I (the secret character) wish I wasn't much too little at that time to understand the many things I still to this day do not understand and the grownups in my life still struggle to answer. Perhaps they do not know the answers yet themselves? Like why airplanes hit two skyscrapers on 9/11, over oil? Why everyone hates Donald Trump, when they loved him as a millionaire businessman/actor?

Hang on, I have more! Like, why did the educational system remove so many very important details of history I want and need to learn out of our history books at school? Why are there urinals in the girl's bathroom or maxi pads in the boy's bathroom, all of sudden, and grownups fighting over it, and my friends being pulled out of school and homeschooled as a result? Why are there police officers pacing the front of my school every single day, and medical detectors at every entrance. Does a bad guy want to come and kill me while I'm just trying to get an education?

Why can't I just pay a dollar or two for lunch, when my mom forgot to reload my student account? Don't the adult staff at school understand that our parents get busy, and they forget? They are just humans you know. They are the ones who need me to stay focused, don't they know that I need food in order for me to be able to stay focused. Then, the same school that rejected my small bills, yelled at me for brain fog. Go Figure!

Why are vaccines mandatory? Why did all those little kids, so many Kindergarteners and First Graders have to die at Sandy Hook? The list goes on, these are just the tip of the iceberg. Why does food need to be bioengineered, or GMO? Why are there still so many drugs getting across our boarders? Why is there still no cure for cancer? Why so much fake news? I can go on all day. You get the picture, though.

The secret character is a young kid, gender irrelevant, belonging to today's younger generation speaking to a member of today's older generation who actually is foolish enough to be thinking that the younger generation have it so easy. That older generation, who is so envious of the younger generations kid's technology advantages, at least got to be kids, without all the heavy stuff. That is the message this secret character wants to communicate with his or her, etc. elder folk belonging to the generation of his or her, etc. parents or grandparents.

In this secret character's personal opinion, his or her elder should not be envious at all, in spite all the modern advancements. After all, as far as he or she is concerned, that envious one and his or her generation got to experience a much better childhood. They got bicycles. Their parents asked them how their school day was at dinner, vs faces in their phones or laptops. They all watched tv in the same room and played board games over pizza on a Saturday night.

Their favorite snacks were not suddenly taken away because its bioengineered. They got to knock on actual doors of homes for Trick or Treat, instead of candy out a car trunk in a parking lot for Trunk o Treat. So, if a spokesperson of today's youth were to speak to his or her parents and grandparents' generation as a whole, I believe he or she or whatever gender would say, " Be glad you were born when you did. Less medical advancements, yes, but less ailments as well.

Don't you know our food, our environment, our cars even are killing us! By the way grownups, you older folks had a way better childhood. We love hearing about the stories how your road your bikes until the sun went down. At least it was safe to venture off and have adventures out of your parents' sight! Things in our eyes, were far less confusing, less scary, when you were kids, you had more personal contact, your parents talked to you face to face, not via text all of the time. So, forget that thought. Get it out of your grown-up head. Truth is that technology does not always make life easier.