To The Care and Keeping Of “Trivial Things”

As children, our job is to explore the world around us. We are a smooth surface with different facets to our personalities, likes, and dislikes just underneath that we eventually start to chip away. It starts simple enough. What’s your favorite color? Why? Did you like Bratz more than Barbies? Why? Which Ninja Turtle do you like more? Why? These seemingly “trivial things” we gravitate towards are essentially stepping stones to how we develop certain parts of our personalities and, more importantly, how we begin to learn things about ourselves. We are encouraged to talk about these “trivial things” to express ourselves and our joy as we connect with our peers.

And yet, there is an interesting phenomenon that happens in life where your passion and joy for “trivial things” shifts. Soon, if you’re too passionate, it is seen as an “annoyance” at best and a “red flag” at worst. So, eventually, the older we get, the more we tamp the passion down. After all, they are just “trivial things.”