The Ignorance of Growing Up

Hey guys!

Ignorance is Bliss, Bliss is Happiness, Happiness is Ignorance.

(THIS IS A REALLY SHORT STORY BUT IS IMPORTANT TO THE POINT.)

When I was young, in primary school, I was in the school's first chess team. In our second term we competed in our first chess tournament.  Being our first tournament, the team had extremely low expectations and it just a chance to get away from class. Because of how the system works, the last game is always the closest; you're matched with other competitors who have same or similar scores. In the end, I won from a losing position when my opponent made a critical mistake.

The win just, by the skin of teeth, secured third place for us.  Which meant we all got trophies and medals.  For a second semester team with no previous competitive experience, it was quite an achievement.

What I didn't know, was how critical that last game was. I didn't know how close my team was to getting medals. I didn't feel the pressure of my team mates analyzing my every move. I stayed in touch with my opponent afterwards. She mentioned that she knew the stakes and felt the pressure when she made the critical mistake.

(THERE! NO MORE STORY)

Being ignorant about what could go wrong and all the possible consequences that could happen is so often liberating. When we don't have that pressure to perform well, we can concentrate on what we need to do and our own goals.

And that is the worst thing about growing up.We become less ignorant and more educated.

When we're young, we're told we can do anything we want. Teachers get us to write and draw with crayons about what we want to be when we grow up, however fantastical it seemed. Some people drew pictures astronaut or being a firefighther or the Prime Minister of Australia. During sport, our parents would tell us the point of sport was to have fun. "Winning is just a plus," they would always say.

And as we grow up, we realise just how difficult it is to achieve those dreams. How, not everyone gets to be an astonaut or how there's only one Prime Minister and only the winner gets the trophy.

How life gets in the way of our dreams. As our needs and priorities become many, our dreams become increasingly narrow. Its just extremely disconcerting that as we grow up, our dreams narrow. 

I can't help but imagine what would have happened if I went to play that same game, knowing what I know now. Knowing all the things, that could go wrong with every move of the chess piece, knowing that all my teammates were relying on me so that they could get a medal. I don't know if I would have still won, but it definitely would have weighed on my mind.

It isn't so much the pressure that knowledge gives, its knowledge of all the things that could go wrong. Sometimes, knowing less might help us achieve more.

~TastyJacks~