Rediscovering Childhood Wonder: Who Were You Before the World Told You Who to Be?

I get a toffee for my daughter, and for her, it’s the most magical surprise. Her eyes light up, she giggles, and wraps her tiny arms around me in a hug that speaks volumes. There is wonder in the way she finds her missing eraser and laughs as if it were a grand adventure. She holds a tiny vegetable bug fearlessly, letting it walk on her finger, while I take a step back. 

Before leaving for school, she bends down to give the plants a goodbye kiss, and when a tiny bud appears, she celebrates as if she had whispered life into existence. I see her chatting with our beta fish, asking if he feels lonely and if he wants to play. She climbs up the window, eyes shining, peering at the pigeon eggs, excitedly narrating their journey from shell to sky. She finds a simple rock on the sidewalk and proclaims it the most unique treasure she's ever seen.

Children are already in the dance of life, twirling, skipping, and embracing the beauty of the ordinary. Their hearts beat in rhythm with the universe, unfiltered and free. They celebrate the sticky rice I cook as if it were a feast, burst into laughter at the joy of an unexpected burp, and treasure a classmate's gifted sticker as if it were gold. 

And yet, as adults, we try to mold them, place them into boxes, telling them to sit still, be polite, study hard, and avoid playing in the mud. We make them believe that every moment must be productive, that their joy must have an outcome, that their play must lead to achievement.

And so, they grow up, reaching thirty, sitting in silent meditation, searching for answers. They don’t know what they love anymore. The whispers of their childhood have been silenced by years of structure and expectation. 

What was it that once set their hearts on fire? Was it painting? Was it running barefoot in the fields? Was it the way butterflies seemed to chase them as they ran? And yet, when they try to remember, they find only echoes of a life they were told to abandon in favor of rules and reason.

"Who were you before you were told who to be?" — a question that lingers, echoing deep within, urging us to rediscover our truest selves.

A child laughs in the rain, Spinning, spinning, wild and free. No fear of getting wet, no shame, Just dancing with eternity.

A butterfly lands upon her palm, She whispers, "Do you see me too?" The world is big, her heart is calm, Everything feels fresh and new.

So today, let us find the courage to trust in the natural rhythm of our children. Let us not silence their joy or structure their wonder into something measurable. A child raised with trust, love, and the freedom to explore will not falter in life. They will not grow up lost. Instead, they will grow with the quiet confidence of one who was allowed to dream, to create, to believe.

The greatest minds, the most luminous souls, were once children who dared to imagine beyond the confines of expectation. They broke the mold, not because they were forced to conform, but because they were allowed to stay true to themselves. The ones who struggle are those who were never given that chance—who were always told to fit in, never to stand out.

What if we simply let them be? What if we believed in their journey without interference? What if, instead of shaping them into something familiar, we allowed them to carve their own unique path? What if we trusted that by giving them the space to imagine, we are gifting them the world itself?

It begins at home. It begins with trust. It begins with the unwavering belief that if we let them be, they will become exactly who they were meant to be.