Age Does Not Equal Wisdom
There’s a moment when you realize this
There will come a weird moment where you realize an adult you respect and love has stagnated. This could be a parent, teacher, pastor, school mentor, coach, anyone that once upon a time, you would have taken their words as absolute truth without a stitch of salt. You’ll be in the living room, at a party, or bump into them in the fifth aisle at the grocery store.
It may start as an innocent conversation or throwaway comment or emotional argument, and in that moment, it will dawn on you. You’ll leave the idealization of their authority in an open grave in the forest of your mind. You’ll drop the subject, not because you are wrong, but because you know continuing will lead to a childish tantrum or a teenage “I know everything” smirk. You’ll know that being considered right is more central to who they are than being loving.
You may feel a multitude of emotions: sadness that their idea of control is more important to them than making bridges, loss as some of that respect for them slips through your fingers, empathy because you realize they’re not quite there yet and may never be.
It is not a bad thing to grow past your elders in some things. Age and experience does not automatically translate to wisdom.
You’re 13. Twenty-five. Forty-six.
You know that words have power, and you will not wish to wield them to inflict damage.
They’ll say, “You’ll understand when you’re older.”
You’ll nod and say, “Perhaps.”
