Growing up, growing down.

Growing up isn't quite what it was for past generations. The emotions and personal realisations of it, et cetera; they never change. But in our ultra-commercialised 21st century, mass media and corporations have turned growing up into something of its own industry. The first birthday party I remember was my 6th; it was at McDonald's. I'm sure that's beyond commonplace now. That preceded falling in love with all sorts of brands and pop culture franchises, many of which I still cherish, as I'm sure many other Gen Y'ers do (to say the least).

But do or can we have too much of this as a society? I'm not a parent (although I am an uncle, if that really counts for enough here), but I love children, and they can teach adults at least as much about life as vice versa. Many times even since high school I've seen a new toy et cetera and said "I wish I had one of those as a kid!" And I'm not trying to portray all who work in child-related fields or industries as greedy or insincere either (plus I acknowledge they have financial considerations of their own). I'm just saying, there is a VERY fine line between marketing products to children and exploiting them, for whatever purpose, and we need to stop that exploitation, and stop trying to indoctrinate kids, especially in order for them to conform. And don't even get me started on how most of these companies produce their stock (insert mental image of an Asian child with bloodied fingers in a sweatshop).

But here's something the corporations and media don't tell you: growing up, and coming of age, happen very subjectively, and not always when you finish school. Yesterday I saw Finding Dory, which reminded me deeply about this. You might think it's just an animated movie about fish but I'm here to tell you, thematically, it is about something true with nearly EVERY species.

That citation brings me to the last thing I want to emphasize here: prissiness. Maturity is unquestionably important (and I hope I've demonstrated enough in this post), privately and publicly. And this world will always need our help to improve itself. But in adulthood, I firmly believe if you lose touch with your inner child, all your capability for optimism and impressionability will go with them. Not to mention, your hair often is something you can afford in every way to let down, and by doing that, you're maintaining or increasing your socialisation level.

Why do we consistently progress in some ways while regressing in others? That's like collective society simultaneously growing up and growing down. But, I suppose, any sentiment can be passed down through the generations, too.