After this year, reality will hit and I will officially be on my own. Since I was little, I have always been independent and could not wait until the day I was able to play by my own rules. But now that the time is inching closer, I cannot believe that I am almost there. Especially considering I still feel like (and look like) my 12-year-old self.

I have had various discussions with my parents and other adults that went through the transition from high school to college and into the real world. After talking to these adults, it seems to me that the older generations have a much different perspective on the real world than generations closer to my age. If anyone were to compare society during the ‘60s and ‘70s to today, it seems almost like night and day. The way the world has changed since merely 40 or 50 years ago has both shown detrimental and amiable affects.

When I say changes, I am not necessarily talking about innovations and technology, but more so the way we act when it comes to differences. Whether it has to do with race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, people always seem to disagree. Now, people have always disagreed, that is just human nature. The problem is not disagreeing, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion, the problem lies in how we handle our disagreements.

Wars, riots and violence have become all too familiar in the world we live in. Violence has been happening in places we once considered safe. Movie theatres, schools and even airports used to never be a concern for attack. Nowadays, security is tight in almost any public area.This would not be the case if we could just learn how to deal with opinions that oppose our own. The world is made up of so many types of people, ethnicities, religion, races, etc. The diversity is what helps make our world the way it is today. Difference in opinion is a positive notion and should be praised instead of taken in a manner that creates violence. Some people like chocolate ice cream, some like vanilla and some even like strawberry. These different taste preferences do not stir up emotion or violence. Obviously taste in ice cream flavor is not a big global issue, but it all boils down to the same thing: difference in opinion. It is good to have a variety of tastes in the world. If everyone always agreed on everything, the world would be boring. If we could take more serious differences such as Republicans vs. Democrats, or Christianity and Islam, in the way that we take difference in flavors of ice cream and realize that not everyone is going to be the exact same, then the world would be more at peace.

As I grow up and am thrown into the real world, I want to be able to speak my mind without having to worry about stirring up violence. I hope that as I grow, so does the world, and people become more understanding of the idea that it is okay for everyone to have different viewpoints.