'Childhood'– the state or period of being a child or at least that's what the Oxford definition says it is. For me though, becoming more mature than everyone else my age was the only option. My childhood was like walking on eggshells but they could explode like landmines if you are not careful. It was like being an unpaid therapist or house help. It was never knowing what a routine is or even a normal bedtime. It was spending days alone and nights in fear. Well, I'll cut the cr*p now, this story isn't a tragedy, nor is it a romantic one just like how one's life cannot be defined by only one genre. It's a complex roller-coaster of emotions and situations.
Adolescence should at least have been a bit better right? A little bit of freedom, parties, friends, and a social life. But h*ll nah, not in a toxic, conservative, and strict household.
My adolescence was much like my childhood except I had more academic and social pressure to do better. I wasn't outstanding per se but I did better than most of my peers in anything I put my mind at. I was what they called "a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one. "yep that was the full quote. I knew how to play the violin, guitar, cello, piano, and all kinds of sports from badminton to swimming, a little bit of cricket and hockey, some squash, and of course how could I forget table tennis– the only sport I continued in high school until tragedy hit. I never liked dancing or singing but had certificates for a classical dance I learned in my elementary years and had training in classical singing.
Oh, did I forget to mention that I also knew how to use most guns from air rifles to tiny pistols. I was also trained in martial arts specifically Karate and boxing. Now you might think why am I listening to this random person boasting about their abilities in some novel that I graced them with the honour of reading it. Well, because all the things I mentioned were something that I always left in between and couldn't master any of it. I may know how to swim but I won't just qualify for the Olympics with those skills and the guilt of wasting my parents' earned money or at least that's what they told me. I came from a financially stable background yet we had to change our homes every few years but we never went out of town nor did we ever buy a decent house. I was used to horrid smells, large colonies of rodents, broken windows and doors, gaping or leaking ceilings, with so much filth that even after cleaning the house each day one couldn't walk barefoot in the house. Sometimes, we lived in claustrophobic apartments without any bedrooms, so I was grateful to move into houses that no matter how old at least had a backyard. Thus, we never invited anyone over and never celebrated anything. Sleepovers? what's that?
Days passed by, I studied my a*s off each day and stopped all my outdoor activities in my last years of high for I was answering one of the world's toughest exams or so they said. Frankly speaking, I had burned out so much after all those years of hard work that I didn't quite study the last 2 years of high school; my parents' constant arguments further aided in the process. However, I still got a good GPA or distinction in school with the little studying I did. I was more worried about my entrance examinations and portfolio for college. All my relatives around my age were STEM majors and doing well in their respective careers, thus I too had to get into a good college and get a high-paying job later on in life to pay back my parents and support them in their declining years.
But then one day everything I worked hard for, and everything I ever believed in fell apart . . .