Monday 2 February 2015

The Curse of Being Bound to an Image

It's been over nine years since I left my parents and over time my perception of how much progress I've made in my life has changed many times, fluctuating between sometimes thinking I am doing a terrible job at being an adult and sometimes thinking I am doing well. Through some enlightening conversations I've had recently with my friend James, who is in my cohort of ex-fundamentalists, I've come to realize that in spite of everything that I re-evaluated and realized since I left, I missed a very important thing. (I am not going to say that I missed one very important thing because I am sure that there are other things I've missed as well.)

Here it is: we were raised to believe that there is a pre-set standard for what adulthood should look like. I was given to understand that I should grow up and get married at age 18-21, give or take, and after that point I should be completely mature and adult. There would be no need for further growth or any further emotional development. I should have my spirituality completed settled and sorted out, and I should not be different in any way, other than age, from any other married woman who was, say 40  or 50 (the same message was given to young men, although it was gendered differently).