I make masks.
I haven’t grown up yet and I don’t know what I’ll be like when I do.
The grown-ups say I’m small and need to learn a lot from them. What can be learned from adults?
One tells me children shouldn’t lie but they themselves are a liar.
Another wants me to be friends with everyone but doesn’t like others themselves.
One advises me to study so I can become someone, yet they have no interest in learning and don’t read books.
Another teaches me how to be polite, but they can’t even bother to respond to a greeting.
Why are adults like this? Why isn’t everyone as they say they are?
Many are not as they appear; it’s like they’re wearing masks and pretending. Some have several masks and put one on whenever necessary.
I may not have grown up yet, but I understand that adults have masks to hide and not be recognized.
I’ve learned to make masks and shape myself in ways I like. I know how to make masks, but I want to always be myself.
I’ve learned that I can make masks, but I don’t always need to hide behind them.
I am at Nikoo school. They told me Nikoo means “be your best self.”
I make masks for art, beauty, performance, play, entertainment, and joy.
But… I don’t have a mask; I am always myself and want to be my best self.
Author: Ebrahim Aslani
