They say that every experience that will form your life happened before you were twelve.

Does that mean my childhood is over?

It certainly is a deep question—a childhood has always been viewed as the first steps into life, the first experiences with what’s going to happen to you and the world around you. The theory makes sense. For about the first twelve years of your life, you are constantly learning about the world so you can enter it as a competent individual.

Today, competent means having a good education, knowledge, but first and foremost, lots of money. Obviously, they say, you need money because it buys your good education. That good education leads to knowledge, and knowledge can be used to obtain more money. The cycle continues.

Do abstract “talents” like art, writing, and charisma mean anything, then? Do the things that define me mean anything compared to the picture-perfect view of the world?

They don’t have to. I’m okay with that. It’s just another thing that makes me, me.