My cousin asked me why I never talk about my old job anymore

I was visiting family in Phoenix last weekend and my cousin, who's 17, asked me point blank why I never mention my old reporting job. I told her the paper shut down my column after I covered a local land dispute. She just said 'So they stopped you from telling the truth?' and it hit me how simple that sounds to someone who hasn't lived it. It made me realize I've been acting like my story doesn't matter. Has anyone else had a simple question from a younger person make them see their own censorship story in a new light?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthewf641mo ago

Yeah that reminds me of a podcast I heard where a teacher said her student asked why all the history books stopped at the same year. She realized she'd been avoiding current events without even meaning to. Kids see the gaps we've learned to walk around. Your cousin cutting through the grown-up excuses is kind of awesome, honestly. Makes you wonder what else we're just accepting as normal.

the_ruby1mo ago

My 8th grade history book had a whole chapter on 9/11, @matthewf64.

kai_bennett25d ago

My nephew asked me last year why my toolbox at home is so much nicer than the one at my shop. I told him the shop tools get used hard every day. He looked at me and said, 'So you give the broken stuff the good stuff?' I had to sit down. He was right. I was putting the worn-out, public-facing part of my life ahead of the part that actually mattered to me. Kids don't see the reasons, they just see the weird choices we make.