Do you remember the child? The little child who’d jump and sing loudly with no concern of who was watching even when they got the lyrics wrong? Do you remember the joy that came with playing in the mud and dancing in the rain before you realised it made you dirty and wet? Do you remember the infectious laughter and giggle you’d have when you discovered something interesting and fun? What about the moments your eyes would light up when you saw an ice cream stand? I want to appeal to that little child. What happened to you? I would have loved to ask what went wrong but we can deal with that later. 

Seated in a long bus drive, next to me was a mother with her beautiful little girl. This is not a story about an annoying bus ride. What piqued my interest was the inquisitiveness of the young girl. Let’s call her Amanda. 

Amanda, budding with joy and excitement, could not keep calm as she asked questions of when they would arrive, where they were headed, who was the driver, what was my name and whether they’d meet her cousins where they were going. While one would have felt annoyed by the array of questions, her mother answered with much needed patience and grace. I looked at her and was amazed by the confidence she oozes as she asked everyone around her what their name was and insisted that she was Amanda. Well you might say that she was an extrovert and had no problem expressing herself and that different children have different personalities but that is not the conversation for today.

I was a curious child. A very inquisitive mind and one of the children who’d put their fingers on a flame just to prove it is indeed hot! Just the other day, my mother told me that she found me vibrating next to a socket with one end of a steel nail in hand and the other inside on the socket holes. You guessed right! I was electrocuted. While I dont have a recount of the occasion, I now have answers as to why I do things in a certain way. I was young and curious,  but now I’m just curious. What happened to me? What happened to you and me?

Where did the little child go? Most of you will ask yourselves this but then snap out of it and say that life happened, adulting happened and growing up had to happen. Where did the little curious mind go? Was it silenced by the expectations of the society? Was the inquisitiveness shunned by arrogant leaders who don’t deserve to lead? Did you succumb to the sickness labelled as “what will other people say?”

I ask as an inquisitor. I hope to awaken the child in you, to ask questions, to express and rethink. Rethink about the child, the joys of that child, the questions that couldn’t go unanswered because you were curious. Confidence is a learned skill. Do you remember the child? Now that you’ve read my story, I want you to remember your story. What has adulthood robbed you of and you would like to take back? What is that childhood trait that would help you go a long way if only you would stir it up today? Sometimes we look to our past in order to remake our future and today is a good day to do so.

Ruth Kimani ♥️♥️♥️