Losses and Gains of Childhood

Childhood is a wonderful time in our lives and consists of many memories. Some of these are happy memories, while others are sad. All of these experiences, however, hold one thing in common. The memories we remember stick out in our minds because they are significant in some way. We learn from each situation we encounter and treasure each memory. From the moment we are born, we go through experience after experience trying to find a place in this world to fit in and learning who we really are. Many important things occur in our childhood, including both losses and gains.

We have all suffered loss at many times throughout our lives. In particular, we have all faced losses during our childhood, especially the loss of innocence. We are born as innocent children, with no knowledge or wisdom. As “The Mystery” shows, “as long as we go on feeling this mystery we feel free and full and happy” (179). This principle can be seen in the perspective of a carefree child. As we begin to grow up, we encounter many situations each day. With each experience we are faced with, we learn something that can be used in our future. As we move on to each step of our lives, we lose the innocence we once had piece by piece. For instance, when we go to school for the first time, we are faced with many things for the first time. While we encounter situations with our peers, we see a larger perspective of the world and see that everything is not perfect as we once believed. Sometimes we are faced with temptations, and especially as innocent people, sometimes we will fall into these temptations. A great example of temptation can be seen in the book of Genesis. God created Adam and Eve as perfect, innocent humans. The serpent, on the other hand, was full of evil. The serpent tempted Adam and Eve by telling them “the tree was good to eat ... and that it was desirable for the knowledge it could give” (611). Although they believed they would gain much wisdom by eating the forbidden fruit, they actually were led to punishment from disobeying God's words, "You must not eat it" (611). Also, we all lose something or some person at one point in our childhood, whether it is the loss of a grandparent, the loss of a pet, or the loss of a special toy. For example, in the Girls with Mothers Behind Bars lecture, we watched clips of what the young children felt as they lost their mothers to prison. When I saw the young daughter crying in the arms of her mother when it was time to leave, it reminded me of a loss I faced during my childhood. When I was in fourth grade, my grandfather on my mom’s side and my grandmother of my dad’s side both passed away 24 hours apart. Having never lost a person to death, I was devastated, losing two grandparents in two days. I couldn't believe it. It was one of the hardest times in my life. I had to go to two funerals in one week and say goodbye for the last time to two very influential people in my life. Facing loss can be extremely difficult, especially to a child. We wish we could hold on to some things forever, but when we lose something significant, we realize that nothing lasts forever.

Although we face losses in the course of our childhood, we also go encounter positive experiences in which we achieve great gains. We face people and situations that teach us lessons that will guide us for the rest of our lives. We learn who we are and what we believe in. We grow into the person we are with the morals and values we treasure. I have many great memories of my childhood that stick out in my mind. Some of the best memories include family reunions. I have always been extremely close to not only my immediate family, but my extended family as well. In my childhood, I spent much of my time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I will never forget the highly anticipated yearly trip to Austin for “extravaganzas.” I would travel to Austin to visit my grandparents in the summer with my parents, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. All of us would stay at my grandparents’ house, and my grandparents had fun things planned for us for the week. We had talent shows, magic shows, played in the woods, climbed up to the balcony on the roof to look out of the telescope to see the endless Austin hills, and many more fun activities. Not only having so much fun with my relatives, I have learned many lessons from my family. Through many experiences, they have taught me to always try my best, to persevere in the presence of obstacles, and have always been supportive of me no matter what happens. The lessons I have learned I will always hold and will use for the rest of my life. I will treasure the fond memories made. Even though I don’t still have the privilege to spend time with my grandparents that have passed away, I am thankful for all that they gave me and will always keep and hold all the great wisdom and wonderful memories they have given me.

The many special times of our childhood give us many opportunities to grow to be a better person. As we go through the various phases of childhood, we experience many gains and losses. We learn how to handle many situations and learn many lessons along the way. Sometimes, we may make bad decisions when we are tempted, but we can learn from these mistakes to grow into better people. As we grow older, we gain more and more knowledge each day and simultaneously lose our innocence. While we move on to achieve greater things, we are forced to leave behind some things. All we have to carry on is the knowledge we have gained and the memories we have made.

**The first picture shows a group of happy, innocent, carefree children. The second picture shows supportive parents, who are very influential in children’s lives and teach children many lessons.