Since moving back to the town where I spent my elementary school days, I’ve been feeling a constant sense of nostalgia. I find myself thinking about who I used to be, which leads me to look back on the little things that used to matter to me. And then I realized, that in some way, those little things have grown into bigger things until they’ve eventually become a huge drive of my existence. It all starts somewhere. And in this case, it started with a golden star.
Ever since we were little,
We’ve been conditioned to let others determine our worth.
When we did something good, Our teacher would give a gold star.
We would wear out gold stars proudly as if to say- “Hey! Look at me! I did something good!”
Because if know one else knew, then it was suddenly worthless.
We’re trained to chase the gold star.
No matter what.
That tiny star has determined our worth for years
Because if we don’t get it, our right to exist is suddenly gone.
That suddenly, we’re less than if we don’t have an array of stars to present for our good deeds.
We’re trained to only exist to please someone else.
To wait on someone to tell us we did good.
But we deserve better.
You deserve better.
You’re allowed to exist loudly.
To live free from the labels and empty words that people speak.
To give yourself a golden star, because that’s the only one that will last.
A star for you.
I promise, you deserve it.
