And still you carry on!

You learn, play and eat together, encouraged to listen, communicate and work as a team, or even as ‘a family’. Each day, no matter what turmoil is going on in your fast developing brain and body, you carry on.

Then the adults of the world came together, played their games, used their words and their freedom. They decided to separate from each other.

You carried on as normal, “Sorry for being late Miss”, “Sir are you fasting?”, “Miss what does it say on the board?”. Miss is distracted today.

Then the adults began to turn on each other, people told lies, lost their jobs and people were killed. They were on TV and the internet talking loudly and angrily.

You read your book before breakfast and wrote your review, Sir read and ticked your entry, he seemed distracted today. You are struggling with the hot weather and having to wear your school uniform. You carry on.

Some adults came together to suggest people help each other. Then people died in ways that usually happens far away, in your home country. People ask why this has happened.

Eventually Miss and Sir spoke about some of the decisions the adults in the country have made recently. They were patient and used many different ways of helping you to understand. Then you did a maths lesson that took Miss all last night to prepare.

There is a lot in the news about a man who stands in front of big crowds like a preacher and everyone cheers. Except he doesn’t talk about nice things, or about being good to each other, he talks about hating anyone who looks ‘different’ to him. But everyone says he looks very odd, which also means ‘different’, so it’s very confusing what he is actually talking about, but a lot of people still cheer.

You told us about deaths you’d heard about on the news in your family’s home country so that we could all send our thoughts. Miss listens for a moment and then moves on, she has lots of important things to do today. You are confused for a moment. You carry on.

You get up early everyday with your parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, guardians, brothers, sisters, cousins, neighbours and friends. You travel, sometimes a long way, to enter a place that will at some point give you a load of lemons. Some of these lemons have been grown for a long time. Some were very expensive. Some are old and have recently been re-used or rebranded. Why lemons? Well lots of others are also being given lemons and they have got on with it. But… this system… each day… still gives you lemons.

And each day. Every. Single. Day.

You turn up.

You make lemonade. You get crappy lemons. You are GIVEN CRAPPY LEMONS. You make more and more lemonade. You carry on. Against your instincts. YOU CARRY ON. Against physiology, psychology and biology. You carry on.

The adults of your world trip over their own egos and fear. They allow their horizons to darken. But you are looking up, even when you are told to look down, you fight for your horizon, you fight for every moment to think, discover and build friendships.

I hope that you don’t lose those wonderful parts of yourself. I hope that the world sorts itself out so it sees the best of you. In the meantime, keep making lemonade. Please carry on.