#being 12

Not an apple cake, I don't like those, too sweet and full of mushy apples, a cake with apples on top.

I cut a slice and heated it up for 14 seconds, when I took a bite the smell of being 12 filled me in and turned me over for 10 seconds.

For 10 seconds my grandma was alive, for 10 seconds I didn't have a chronic disease, for 10 seconds it was cold and I was finally home from school, for 10 seconds I didn't have my period, for 10 seconds I was bored.

As I think about it tho I realize that for 10 seconds I didn't have my beautiful and fun first kiss, for 10 seconds I hadn't been to my amazing high-school, for 10 seconds I hadn't been to new cities, I hadn't attended my first concert, I hadn't had my heart broken and healed, I hadn't met my favorite public figure.

(via 12-Year-Olds Pinpoint Exactly What’s Wrong With How America Sees Race)

It was heartbreaking watching this video.  

And part of my problem with creations like this is that we replay the pain over and over again, to the point that our children are repeating and appropriating, almost verbatim, the victim-focused language of race.   Do we reward these kids because of their insightful observations?  When I was 12, I kinda had an idea that there was something amiss about the society in which I lived, but I didn’t have the words to articulate fully, my feelings and insights.

Yes, it proves my point that we’re all affected by race, divided because of white privilege, on our way to shaping another generation to be hyperaware of their self-identity and ways they don’t measure up.  How much more of this do we need to take ourselves (and them) through?

Why must we wait for these kids to grow up to make a better world? How come we can’t make a better world for them, right now??

So, I want to hear from you.  What should we do to help these kids heal?