The first time I saw The Wizard of Oz, I fell in love with the movie. I followed Dorthy on her quest to get to the Wizard and I too was scared of the forest. I wanted the Wizard to be real just like Dorthy and her followers. But when Toto pulled back the curtain the Wizard was demystified. He was a man. This same demystification is part of life. We go into something expecting a certain outcome or result and leave disappointed, changed or even scarred by the experience. Our innocence has been eroded. The most common idea we try to strip kids of is Santa Claus. We tell kids that when they reach a certain age they should cease to believe. The same thing follows with the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the like. What we are trying to do is provide clarity, to be honest about the world, to set kids up to believe even when their really has no evidence. What happens is we create generations of kids who lose hope and the ability to appreciate the wonder in mysteries. We don't trust and we don't believe.
This week, I want you to think about a time when the curtain was pulled back for you. When did you experience a moment where what you believed to be true turned out to be different? How were you changed? How did it happen? What has been the result? What experience have you gained from this?
NOTE: This opens up a space for us to say what we want. Some people may speak about politics, religion, education, home. Please be respectful of others. These are your thoughts and I am asking that you keep in mind the thoughts of others. BE RESPECTFUL or I will delete your response and no credit will be given.
41 comments:
A time in my life where the curtain was pulled back from me was when I found out Santa Claus was not real. My parents did a great job at disguising themselves. They would use different wrapping paper and sign with a different signature from their own. However, I believe it wasn’t until fifth or sixth grade when it was realized that Santa was not real. I had already been hearing from my classmates that they did not believe anymore, but I didn’t want to listen to them. On that very Christmas day my brother had opened a gift from ‘Santa’ and beneath the wrapping paper was a gift that he had not asked for. It was actually a present that was on my list. My parents quickly said ‘oh, Santa must have mixed it up’. Unfortunately, I did not believe what they were saying and was devastated. From then on the Christmas experience wasn’t as special as the years previous. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a wonderful time of year. For my brother’s sake I continued to act as though Santa was real and delivered us presents every Christmas Eve so he would still believe. I learned that just because it was over for me doesn’t mean it had to be over for the younger children. I truly wish I still believed in Santa Claus because everything just seems more magical on that given day out of the year.
The curtain was pulled back for me when I found out there really was not an "Uncle Bobby". My mom would always tell me when I was bad, that she was going to drop me off at Uncle Bobby's house if I continued to be bad. I would get really scared and instantly behave. She would always make him seem really scarey and make it sound like the worst time of my life. So when I was about 7 or 8 my mom told me he really was not real. I was so disappointed. I felt like I pretty much wasted my time.
A huge curtain was pulled back for me when I was a freshman in high school. I finally met a guy who I thought had really liked me and treated me well. He took me places and we told each other "I love you" and I really did think I was in love. Only a few months later did I see him in the hall laughing with his friends about how funny it was for a stupid freshman girl to think this boy loved her. This hit me hard and really ruined my trust, and today is the reason I am quiet and often don't open up to others. It really impacted my views on others and has destroyed a lot of my trust.
A time in my life when the curtain was pulled back was when my mom and step dad got divorced. My step dad raised me since I was born and I looked up to him as my dad more so then my biological dad. He taught me how to play softball and taught me how to drive. I told him more then I told him more about my life then I did my mom. Last year when they got divorced it hit me hard. I no longer had someone to talk to at home after a long day, and no one to play catch and go to the batting cages with me. It opened up my eyes about a
lot of things. I was selfish about it at first and and told my mom it wasn't fair that I had to move from the house I loved in all my life and leave such a good home. I didn't look at it from her perspective and how un happy she was.I began to appreciate the relationships and friendship I have more, and valued the time I did get to spend with him in my life. I also began to show my true personality and thoughts to my mom since she never really saw a lot of that. It really opened my eyes that you have to appreciate the people that are in your life.
A time where the curtain was pulled back from me was when i found out the Easter bunny wasn't real. My parents always made sure when i woke up on Easter morning that the eggs would be all scattered around the yard and that a bunny came and put them there for me and my siblings. I found out by walking out one morning early to seeing my parents putting them everywhere. I don't think i really pieced it all together and found out right then and there that he wasn't real because i was little, but i eventually found out. Me finding out kinda ruined Easter morning, but now I just make sure my little brother who still believes will believe for as long as he can.
A curtain was pulled back for me when I was around 10 years old. I always believed that my grandpa was an astronaut. He knew so many things about the universe and said he worked for NASA. He knew all the current models of space ships and how they were made. I ended up finding out that he was just an engineer for NASA and was not an astronaut. This changed me because I would always brag to my friends that my grandpa was an astronaut. I found out when my I was talking to my grandpa and asked him when he was going to space and he explained to me that it was not his job to do that. He just designed things. The result of this was me gaining the real information about my grandpa's job. I've gained the experience of always knowing the truth of things before sharing it with other people.
Going into high school was a really big step for me. When I was younger I though of it being completely different then it actually turned out. I honestly was really scared going into high school and being a freshman but i was also exited on starting something new. I though all the teachers were going to be really mean and didn't care about you because on how many students they have per day. I didn't expect meeting new friends and becoming very close with them. Well that didn't turn out they way i though. The teachers here are very nice and i hope they care about us and want us to succeeded. Not those teachers that just come here for a pay check. I've had my ups and downs in high school and it being my senior year i really wished i tried harder as a freshman to now. I really try my hardest this year especially. y new friends mean a lot to me and im happy i met them. I am enjoying my senior year to the fullest because ill never be in high school again. High school is a lot different than i though it would be but im happy it turned out the way it did.
The curtain was pulled back on me when I found out that Santa Claus was not real. I was at a very young age to learn this, about six or seven. My parents would always tell my sisters and I to pick out whatever we wanted. I went too far, asking for a huge number of things such as Yu Gi-Oh cards, hot wheels, and other similar things. My parents told me not to get all that stuff, because not only is it selfish, but expensive. That was my first clue that Santa did not exist, I assumed that is was all free. When I asked my parents why money mattered, they told me that Santa leaves a bill on the table on Christmas morning. On Christmas morning, like anyone else my age, I got up really early to check on presents. At the same time, I wanted to Know what I got, so I checked the table for the bill and it was not there. I was devastated. This changed me because I hoped from then on that no one I knew would experience such a devastating thing. Every year, I would play along and try to keep the anticipation of Santa for my younger siblings.
The most memorable time the curtain was lifted in my life was when I found out that my Uncles Chris and Javier were absolutely hated and somehow seen as less than human by other people, simply because of their love for each other. I grew up around them, honestly not thinking much of it. I was told, "They love each other, just like mommy and daddy love each other, only they're two men. Do you understand?". I did, or so I thought.
About the age of eight or nine was when I first heard the word Fag. On the school playground, some kids were showing off with how big and adult they were, so they began to insult the other boys. Eventually, Fag was shouted, and I went home to ask my parents what a Fag was. They sat me down and explained that it was a slur, a "Very bad word" to describe people like my uncle Chris and his partner Javier. I didn't understand the big deal, they were just two people who loved each other and frankly, argued less than my parents did. I hadn't been carefully taught how to hate gay people, or even to think that it was weird or unnatural. I was love-blind, I think that's how some people put it.
Nowadays, that curtain's gone, completely and utterly. Every day something else comes on the news about a politician trying to make sure people like my uncles can't get married legally, or Westboro Baptist wants to tell them they're going to hell because of who they love, or, what's even worse in my eyes, simple and ordinary people who deny them business or even the respect due to another person because of whom they lay with at night.
I still see my uncles (And my aunts, Laura and Liz) as normal, loving, wonderful people who I will always call Uncle and Aunt because I know if they were allowed by the government that's what they would be legally. The curtain's gone, it has been since I was a little boy, but there's no doubt in my mind who my family is, nor about what they mean to me.
A time in my life that the curtain was pulled back was the day i discovered that Santa Clause was not real. It threw me for a loop and i felt like my world was falling apart. My mom sat with me until i calmed down enough to talk. From then on, christmas just was not the same. it is still my favorite holiday but it does not have the same magic.
The curtain was pulled for me going into high school. I thought high school was like Mean Girls or all those movies out there. I thought all the guys were going to be hunks and all the pretty girls were going to be brats. Having the curtain pulled occurred when I realized not all pretty girls are mean and 99 percent of guys are going through puberty and have not hit the hunk stage. It was bittersweet. I am so happy to experience such a wonderful high school career by not getting bullied and worrying about who I have to sit with at lunch. High school not turning out like the movies has been great because there was always so many cliques and I am happy that I can talk to anyone and be content. From this I have gained the knowledge of not expecting a lot going into situations I know nothing about. That way I can not get my hopes crushed.
A time where the curtain was pulled back for me was when I discovered that the tooth fairy wasn't real. I always thought the tooth fairy was a little sketchy to begin with because for one tooth I would get a few dollars and then the next time the amount was much larger.It also caught me off guard that my siblings seemed to get more than i ever did. Other than the tooth fairy being a sketchy figure in my childhood, I looked forward to loosing a tooth and sticking it under my pillow that night. One night changed everything. I wash't quite asleep yet and was just falling asleep when i felt my pillow move and woke to someone leaving the room. I checked my pillow and my tooth was still there so I just brushed it off and went to sleep. The next morning my tooth was gone. Later that day I confronted my parents about it but they denied everything. A few months later I then caught my dad switching a tooth for a dollar under my sisters pillow and knew the gig was up. I was upset but didn't think much because the tooth fairy wasn't that big of a deal to me, but it did make me question all the other mystical figures in my life and made me wonder what else my parents have lied to me about. However, I feel that believing is apart of ones childhood and discovering the truth is apart of growing up and prepares them for life and how it can de deceiving and not always what you expect it to be.
The time in my life that changed after the curtain was pulled was when I realized how politics worked and how it's affecting the entire country. I thought throughout elementary and middle school everything was going well. I didn't see any issues other than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Katrina. All other major events were in our past and over. Then starting my freshman year of high school I started to watch the news and slowly but surly i came to realize all the issues we have and all the arguing in DC. i'm still learning but so far the impact has altered my view on our society. Even though we came a long was we still have along way to go and were not the most prosperous country in terms of rights for people and new innovations.
A time in my life when the curtain was pulled back for me is when this year, I got a B+ in language arts, in this class. I had always believed I was good at language arts, always getting A's. Then when I got to this class, I got a wake up call. This did not mean I was no longer good, but maybe I had stopped giving my 100 percent. What I realized was, I had never been challenged up until this year. For the most part, I had "easy" teachers that just gave A's if you wrote something down. But getting this B+ not only drove me insane, but it drove me to be a better student in this class, and in others. I truly believe now I am a much better writer and am prepared for college. I know I was put into this situation for a reason and I am glad it happened to me.
A time that the curtain was pulled back for me was when my parents had gotten divorced. Both of them had lied to my sister and I about the real reason and when I finally was told the truth was when I felt the disbelief Dorothy must have felt when she discovered who the wizard was. It wasn't that the truth was horrible, but the fact that they hid behind a lie for justification is what really made me open my eyes a little bit wider. I do not hold grudges against them for keeping the curtain up for so long because I know that we were in their best interests and they only wanted to protect our innocent view on the world.
A time that the curtain was pulled back for me was when i found out that Santa Clause was not a real person. I had asked for a Nintendo wii when it was first big and i had gotten it for christmas so the next day after Christmas i went to my dads side of the family for their Christmas. My aunt had asked me what i got i told her a Nintendo she then said oh how nice Erik (step father) is such a good guy for waiting in line all night i then said the wrapping paper said Santa so it was then that i realized he did not exist without a doubt i had had my doubts but now i knew it caused me to be very skeptical about everything after that till i grew up.
The curtain was pulled back for me when I realized that my parents had been lying to me to make me listen to them. I had always been told that if I did not listen to them, they would send me back. It was always the perfect motivation for me to do my chores and go to bed on time. It never dawned on me that they couldn’t “send me back” until I learned about where babies really came from. The only reason this particular fib hit me so hard was because they used that trick to get me to follow the rules so many times that it was drilled into my head.
A time that the curtain was pulled back was recently this year when deciding the whole college ordeal. I had never really given it much thought but I always thought it was something that came along easily and deciding where to go and what to do was a breeze. However I soon found out none of that was true. The curtain was pulled back and I realized it is actually a very complex, stressful situation. Your future is in your hands and the decisions you have to make for yourself. It was a real eye opener that I have to do what I want to do and not just what others tell me to do. I must decide what career path to take and where to find that education. It was a real curtain opener because I've never really made "big" decisions about my future on my own. Things have always just been decided for me, so it made me realize that I have to start making my own decisions for myself.
A time that the curtains were pulled back for me was when I found out that when you swallow a watermelon seed, one will not grow in your stomach. I was changed because it was one of the first times I realized that not everything my parents said was true. It happened when I swallowed a watermelon seed and nothing happened. The result of this was I started to question what my parents said and i gained experience by thinking on my own rather than just listening to what my parents said.
One example of the curtain being pulled back for me was when I found out that Santa was not real. I remember I was reading a book, which was actually a kids book, and it had a story about a family that was struggling financially and would not have presents from Santa that year. I remember telling all my friends at school the next day and getting laughed at because apparently everyone else found out years before I did. Ever since learning this, Christmas has never been the same. I still love the holiday but it doesn't hold the same mystery it once did. Learning this also taught me not to believe everything my parents told me. After this I started realizing that I could form my own opinions and ideas that were separate from my parents, and that they do not know everything.
A time that the curtains were pulled back for me was when I had to move to a new home and new elementary school after my kindergarten year. This was because my mom was pregnant with my first sister and there wasn't enough room in our old house for our growing family. Even though we stayed in brunswick, switching schools after the first year of adjusting to school every day and making all of my friends was not the easiest thing for me. With a baby brother and a new sister on the way, attention was not all on me anymore. I had to learn very fast the world didn't revolve around me. Looking back, it's probably the reason I still crave attention and affection from the people I love, but it's part of who I am and I like the way it shaped me. I think all of the changes that year made me more outgoing and I also think it made me grow up faster, which in turn made me a better sister, and being the best sister I can be will always be at the top of my list of priorities.
-Riczo 5-6
For me a time when the curtain was pulled back was in freshman year when my grandma came to live with my family after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Before then I had been able to distance my self from the effects of death. But with my grandma now terminal ill living with my family I saw truly what death causes. This was a curtain being pulled back to me because I saw and experience the emotions caused by death first had and like I had never before.
The curtain was pulled for me my senior year of high school. Everyone makes it out to be this glamorous time of having fun with your friends by staying out all night on Friday nights, breezing through school work, having a senior skip day and an epic senior prank, not caring about growing up, and pretending like we're eighteen forever. But really I has been the total opposite for me. I have been studying the most I ever have in my school career, I'm either at work or at home sleeping because I'm so exhausted from the school day, I do not socialize nearly as much as I should, and I put all my efforts into everything college related. 9th, 10th, and 11th grade will all be years I will never forget, but I am ready to move on to the next chapter of my life already.
The curtain was pulled back for me my senior year of high school. I had good grades all other 3 years of my high school career and thought senior year would be a breeze and I could carry those awesome grades again. Little did I know, this would be my toughest year of high school. Since the first day of senior year I diagnosed myself with senioritis and never did any homework or anything school related really until I was receiving almost all C's in every class and my mom was screaming at me. Although I didn't want to do my work still I had thoughts in my head that senior year was the best year of high school and you take easy classes and just have fun because that's all that mattered since you would be gone the following fall. However, since year smacked me in the face and taught me how to grow the heck up and face my problems like a mature adult. Although senior year has had its ups and downs at the end up of the day I'm just exhausted.
A period when the curtain was pulled back for me was when I started competitive dance. At first, I thought it would be fun and that I would make a lot of new friends. The first couple of years, that was the case. As I got older and kept with it, I've made higher level teams with a tougher coach. Things became more competitive within the team itself. It was completely different from when I first started out. I thought I would have fun, become a better dancer, and make new friends, but the exact opposite happened. I would come home crying because of the high stress levels that being on the dance team put me at, I would be told that I was never good enough and should have never made the team in the first place (mostly by the coach), and I came to dislike a lot of people that was a part of competitive dance community (just the ones that would put me down and wonder why I was there in the first place, of course). I quit competitive dance when the situation was at its worst. From this experience, I had a tough time liking people in general and making friends, but I have learned to deal with more difficult people.
The curtain was pulled back from me when I realized Santa Claus was not real. It was not really a huge deal at the time because it was about time. I had began to realize the physics of Christmas. It made no sense for there to be a Santa Claus, but I still had no confirmation from my parents that he wasn't real. There was one Christmas, a while back where I confessed to my parents that I did not believe. They then confirmed to me that he did not exist. This was actually a shock to me. I had hoped that they would continue the to make me believe, but I suppose it was time. To this day, my parents still carry on the tradition of giving me gifts from Santa, even if we all know he isn't real.
The curtain was pulled back for me when high school started. I believed that high school was going to be a scary and horrible place to be. All of the movies show that the little kids and freshman always get picked on and that scared me to death. Even though I wasnt a little kid I was still scared for that first day of school. All of the movies showed that the girls were always stuck up and the boys were bullies and the day that I stepped into high school I realised that wasn't the case, everyone was nice and nothing was like the movies. High school has changed me to the max. It has made me a better individual and made me ready for college. Especially senior year has changed me and made me Kyle Sasala.
A time in my life where the curtain was pulled back from me was when I realized that Santa Clause was not real. My parents came right out and said that Santa was not real. Over time I realized that my mom's handwriting was strangely similar to Santa's, and my brothers didn't hide the secret too well either. I was upset that I had learned that Santa is not real because in some ways, it felt that I had been robbed of the magic of Christmas. I still love the time of year, but it does feel the same as it did when i was younger.
The curtain was pulled back for me when I began my senior year of high school. Everyone tells you that it is going to be the best year of your life when in fact it is only the most stressful year of your life. My classes were the hardest of my career, I dealt with the stress of applying for different colleges and scholarships, all on top of feeling the stress of my last high school wrestling season. I knew going into this year that I would have work and couldn't be lazy but I wasn't prepared for nor could I have imagined the amount of stress I would endure. Although there are many great things about my senior year like all of the camaraderie between my friends and the privileges of being a young adult, my senior year has not been even close to the easiest or most fun year of high school.
This wasn’t really anything that I believed to be true, but in 4th grade, my teacher (anonymous) told my parents that I had ADD and ADHD. She told my parents that I never paid attention in class and that I needed to be tested. I was smart enough to realize the questions that my parents were asking me and knew that I did not have to be tested. This taught me that not everyone in the world is not as nice as they may appear that she would be quick to judge me like that as a professional. It happened because I would daydream in class because it was too easy. I was easily getting perfect grades in several subjects that year, so why would I need to pay attention? The result was that my parents were set off over the top that a teacher would suggest something like that and “went off” on her. I have gained the experience that in learning from my teacher, which it is not right to judge and can often create great anger that was not present before. Overall, it has taught me to just be nice to everyone and treat other how I would like to be treated.
Cody Taylor 3rd period
A time where the curtain was pulled back from me was when I started high school. In 8th grade I'd always imagine what high school would be like, having an equal balance of a social life, good grades and enough sleep. Obviously that can't happen. It was very different than what I thought, always picturing to be like in the movies. Much more simple. When this started to hit me I became extremely stressed, my grades plummeted and I always found myself to be exhausted. After I learned to even it out, I started to enjoy myself and realize it was going to be very different than I imagined. I was not prepared for this, and I think kids coming into high school should be better taught that it is not as easy as it may seem.
A time in my life when the curtain was pulled back for me was when I realized that maybe my dreams were too big. I've always dreamed of going to school in New York City, or spending my whole life dancing and doing what I love. I know we are always told anything is possible and I do believe that, but soon enough I realized that you can't exactly make a living being a dance teacher your whole life and that even though New York City always seemed like such a magical city to me and anything could happen, I also realized that it would be very scary. I think of how fun it would be, but I know being on my own in a big city might be harder than I think. I still dream of living their when I'm older, and raising my kids in a big city, but at the same time I know that if in just a few months I were on my way to spend my college years there, I wouldn't be as fearless as I always thought I could be.
A time for me when the curtain was pulled back was the day I found out Santa Claus wasn't real. I still remember it clear as day. It actually occurred a few days after Christmas. My family and I were out at breakfast and I asked the question myself. When my parents told me I was in complete shock. I cried, honestly. I guess I didn't know what to do. I was upset/in shock that this magical figure didn't exist , and mad that my parents lied to me. On top of that the fact that this meant the tooth fairy, easter bunny, etc. Weren't real either just made it ten times worse. Although it wasnt the most ideal time of my life, it honestly was something that needed to be done. Like let's be real, how embarrassing would it be still believing in Santa this far in life.
A time in my life that the curtain was pulled back was when I moved to Brunswick almost three years ago. I had to leave all the people that I grew up with and my house. Moving to Brunswick, I obviously didn't know anyone and I had to change myself and become more outgoing to meet people. I started playing football that summer and I learned to open up and start showing my personality more. Moving here changed the way I looked at things and different situations.
A time when the curtain was pulled back for me was last December when my grandpa died of cancer. He had been diagnosed in 2012 and was finally at a point where the doctors believed he may pull through and survive. Last summer, about a month after the doctors told us they believed he was in remission, his condition got the most severe it had ever been and he passed at the end of the year. My family and I had just started to get our hopes up again after a long year and a half of treatment, only to have them ripped away from us.
I have been taken advantage of many times in my life, my kindness to others have always been mistaken for weakness. Growing up I never had a reason not to trust someone with my secrets or do something nice for someone and they not appreciate it. I learned the harsh reality about the world as I grew older. I met many people through out the years who I thought would always be there for me, who I could count on to care for me the way I cared for them. But, that's not always the case I since learned. In this world you meet plenty of selfish people who don't take others feelings into mind, but luckily there is more good than the bad. I became guarded towards others when it came to my feelings, my sophomore year of high school I lost a few friends because of this. I was able to open my eyes and realize that what has been happening to me was not fair. I am so thankful for this experience, it molded me into the individual I am today. I grew stronger and wiser, and even better it led me down the path I am now on with my new friends, who are best ones I have ever had. This experience in my life really proved to me that the quote, "you live and you learn" is 100% true.
The curtain was pulled from me when I was in middle school an learned for the first time that bit everyone thinks the same way as I. I was shocked to find out the opinions of others and how close minded my peers were at such a young age. It really surprised me and made me think differently from then on.
Cali Brandt
A curtain was pulled back for me when my parents got a divorce. I always thought that they were so in love with one another, completely oblivious to all of their problems. I was very shocked when I found out everything. I was really upset about it and was very mad at both of my parents. Now they are both very happy with someone else. This made me realize that you need to be happy in life and sometimes you need to do things for yourself, even if it will affect other peoples lives.
A time in my life where the curtain was pulled back was when I found out LeBron was just like every rich person or celebrity. When I met him my world changed forever. I had an obsession with him, posters everywhere. Then when I met home and witnessed the arrogance and selfishness I started to dislike the player I loved the most. I realized that money changes everything and everybody no matter what.
High school is a time in my life when the curtain was pulled back. As a freshman in high school, just like everyone else i was searching for new people to talk to and get to know. Throughout the years, i have discovered many different types of people. I learned who i can trust and who i can't trust. At first, i thought i had all the friends in the world. As time went on i discovered who my real friends are. This gave me a big reality check because i was just a freshman in high school trying to get along with everyone, but i realized the real people in my life.
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