Before I Knew of The World

Before I Knew of The World Avery Kurzontkowski October 5th, 2021 I have never been a girl of quiet nature. Since I was a child, I have always been the first one to speak out loud in class, or introduce myself to a new person. Every report card I ever received had the same thing in common in the notes: Needs to learn to be silent in class. I never understood why it was such a big deal that I enjoyed sharing. My voice was my power, I could use it to contribute to the world I saw all around me through my eyes. I was little, and everyone around me was so large. Rather than letting the world dictate me to become who they wanted me to be, I could use my voice to speak my own truths. Nobody could take my voice away from me, my voice was mine. As I have matured into a teenager, soon to be an adult, I still carry the trait of being a loud person. In the photo, I wear a large dress, and hold a guitar, which I received for Christmas. The little girl is sweet, with short blonde hair, and a button nose. But her expression is loud- she is not dressed by her mother, she is not being told how to stand by her father. She is choosing the way to present herself, nobody can take away her self expression. m I loved dressing up as a little girl in princess dresses. Whether it be Belle, Cinderella, or Ariel- who was my favorite in particular- you could always find me in a dress. I guess it was my way of expressing myself as a child, an outlet to be a part of the fairytales I read and dreamed of. As a teenager I cannot help but get excited when I must wear a fancy dress for a school dance or social event. The passion I have for expressing myself through fashion continued on through my life, but in a different form. I guess some traits stay similar throughout everyone’s life, but take different forms as they mature. I have no recollection of why I enjoyed Band Aids so much, but I did. My parents tell me stories of me taking boxes of Band Aids and sticking them all over my body, and the dog’s body so I could play veterinarian. In this photo, a large Band Aid is covering my forehead, making it seem as though I injured myself in some way, but in reality, I was a child with a strange interest. I have no passion for medical studies today, but as a child, I constantly wanted to know how and why things worked the way they did. It was like a sticker, which was fascinating- but I could decide what it meant, the sticker did not tell me what it was meant for. Band Aids were a blank canvas, whatever image I wanted could be imagined on it. When the photo was taken, I was still an only child. My sister had not come into my life yet, all of the attention was on me by my parents. Everywhere they went, I did. I was known by everyone in my Dad’s insurance office, “David’s little girl.” I worried about running out of ink in my markers when I would color, which seemed big to me, but in contrast to the bills my parents were struggling to pay, my issues were not of concern. I did not know the concept of an issue, all I knew was that the world is mine, and I could shape it to whatever I wanted it to be. A little girl of four looks for unicorns in the woods, she does not know the concept of responsibility. I wish the world could stay in this perspective for everyone, forever. Wouldn't that make life a lot easier?