Nicole Labonte

I've had my rants about entitlement and greed before, and the last thing I wrote focused very heavily on it, but it's on my mind frequently, and more so every year.
However, another thing that has been on my mind lately is something I have also talked about with co workers.
When people say 'You're too young for that'.

Seems like a harmless statement to some, but sometimes it's hurtful to the one hearing it about themselves.
'You're too young for Grey hair'.
I wish someone had told my genetics that, because I had Grey hair at 17, now at 40, yes I have to colour my hair, and frequently, because I am ashamed of the Grey hair that came for me super young.
'You're too young to be in that much pain.'
Maybe so, but not everyone had to work 2 jobs, and at one point 3, just to survive as I was kicked out at 17.
Fresh out of high school, not knowing what I was going to do with my life, I was scared and barely an adult.
'You're too young to have this many health problems'.
Some people are unlucky and are born with health issues, like asthma, heart issues, children can even have arthritis.
I have a co worker, who has severe asthma, and is deathly allergic to peanuts. She hears this all the time and I see it on her face, the defeat, the sadness, the feeling of why does my body fail me?
Pain is real to some, even if it's invisible to others.
Simple comments, that may seem harmless,
But,
You're too young... for this, is that harmless?
To tell someone they are too young for something their body did, something they can't control.
I was too young to see some of the things I saw,
I was too young to carry the weight I had to carry,
But I had no choice.
I was too young when I lost my childhood, but I lost it.
Vague memories of life, but not of living.
Am I too young to not remember my life as a child? Or a teenager?
Are people my age not allowed to have chronic pain?
Injuries happen, that we don't always heal from, the body can only take so much.
Genetics win, and to some it's defeating.
I'm that person, that pushes through as much as I can, until I cant, and the guilt I feel inside is real.
While minimal, I have arthritis in my right hand, yes at only 40. Will it get worse as I get older? I can already see the crooked fingers, and the pain is very much real.
I may sound like I am complaining, I feel like sometimes I explain things in such a way that it comes across as complaints, or pity seeking.
But, I write what's on my mind, and what's in my heart.
Genetics will be Genetics, some good some bad, but maybe before saying to someone you barely know that 'you're too young' think about all the things you don't know.

Judge less, build up don't tear down, you don't know another person's story, or the roads they may have traveled.

Nicole Labontè
xoxo

Why do I procrastinate so much? 🥴.
The night before a deadline and I had a cortisone shot in my writing hand, I never learn 🙃.

Spending a few days with music has inspired me ✨️

***Not my picture,
Taken from Pinterest***

Words are mine 🖤