Furrowed Brows and Lost Nostalgia

Do you remember being 12, 13? I remember playing Pokemon with monochrome 8-bit sprites and blasting Backstreet Boys CDs on my walkman. I remember lazy school days with spelling homework, math workbooks, and reading comprehension. I can remember the future being so far away and thinking I was never going to get there.

I can still remember having silly dreams of being a figure skater, Prince William’s future wife, and maybe one day if I was really lucky, I’d meet Matt Damon or Leonardo DiCaprio. And I remember the not so silly ones, like becoming a pediatrician, winning the Pulitzer Prize one day, and finding the cure for cancer.

I never imagined the possibility of becoming a parent at 12, like the recent news of Alfie Patten, a 13 year old boy from England who had unprotected sex with his 15 year old girlfriend who just gave birth.

I mean, I remember having some serious crushes on fellow schoolmates, but sex? At 13? I can still remember that dreaming about your first kiss was entirely daunting, something you might experience in high school. Watching stars make out in a movie was already uncomfortable enough. My friends and I would giggle, some of us even squirmed and tried to look away at simulated sex scenes. It's still just as awkward even now.

Maybe I’ve already reached that point I’ve finally become “old”… at the ripe old age of 21, no less. A lot of people are asking where were the parents, or the schools, or whatever authority is supposed to be looking after these kids. As if they were supposed to prevent these events from happening from close supervision and severe scolding. But really, where were these kids’ heads at?

What possesses a 12—13 year old to have sex? With a high school kid? Or vice versa? What were they thinking? I've had conversations with myself and others about Patten and his precarious situation.

But... on the other hand, I feel bad for even asking those questions. At 12, I was shy, guarded, and scared. I let the more popular kids copy my homework, I kept my head down a lot, I settled for being the quiet nice nerdy type. I can’t imagine what Patten must be going through.

Several reporters have asked how he expects to be a good father, like if he even knows how much diapers cost (his response: I think it’s a lot). They ask him how it feels like to be a father at such young age, and I can’t help but want to punch those reporters in the face. Because at 12, of course you’re not going to know those answers. You don’t even know what it feels like to be 12, much less understand it all.

Issa Morada

Photo Credit: Lee Thompson--The Sun