{"id":2238,"date":"2022-06-09T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2022-06-22T16:51:46","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T21:51:46","slug":"the-cheat-code-to-growing-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cheat Code to Growing Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Cover by Rozzie Cribbs<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In March I went on this animated movie kick. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always loved animation but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not always on top of it like I used to be (something they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell you about growing up #656 \u00f0\u0178\u00a5\u00b4.) I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pretty sure the premiere of Turning Red<\/em><\/a> is what started it, plus some other things happening personally. Then I moved to my first watch of Encanto<\/em><\/a>, even though it came out last year. I thought, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153why not another?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so I watched The Mitchells vs. The Machines<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, I loved them all (and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We Don’t Talk About Bruno\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/a> is going double platinum in my headphones, as far as I’m concerned). Mei trying to balance the expectations of her mother, family responsibilities, and her true self in Turning Red. Maribel trying to live up to the Madrigal family name while seeming to never please Abuela Alma. Katie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s film dreams (!!) repeatedly doubted and questioned by Rick. Each film explored family dynamics in such a unique way that I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When I finished high school, I spent a few weeks (trying) to get my life together for my next profession in life: being an undergraduate. I was turning the page to a new chapter. From living at home to living in a dorm with three strangers. From the room I grew up in, to bringing a few things to fit in a 200 sq. ft space that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be splitting with an entire stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the same can be said about the Multimedia journalists of Mildsauce. Many are preparing for the chapter in their lives when they become \u00e2\u20ac\u0153official adults\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entering the workforce, going to trade school, community college, or taking a gap year; everyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that there is a new cohort of graduating young adults, what makes the Class of 2022 unique?  Well, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right between this odd time of establishing Normalcy<\/a> <\/em>in the pandemic. This is the era where they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had three years of Zoom classes, quarantines, vaccine campaigns, and graduation that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s different on so many levels. This new chapter, this moment, this young adulthood, marks a new era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In college, one of my classes featured us making a five-year plan. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just any old five-year plan, my professor had us write down each goal we wanted to accomplish every month, for 60 months. And for those months, we had to put down what we were working towards every single week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah. Intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was very thorough, and I have a wild imagination so I planned big (but still tangible and reasonable, in my 21-year-old mind!) And wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you like to know? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That meticulously masterful five-year plan was scheduled to start in 2018, and end\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spirit of things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve brought from my childhood, superstition prevents me from breezily writing down the specific plans I wanted to execute on that two-page, 61-row by 7-column spreadsheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, what wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t <\/em>on the plan? A global pandemic pausing any and everything for nearly 3 years. Having to quit toxic work environments. Losing my day job. The list goes on. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just professionally! This doesn’t include the personal, like trying to process how much loss would occur over these years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by @NappyStock<\/a> on Nappy.co<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The iconic Lion King<\/em><\/a> scene, where (spoiler?) Mufasa falls and gets trampled to death is a scene I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve watched many times as a youth. In a college course, we spoke about youth, the media we were exposed to, and how that affected us as adults. Lion King was brought up again, and there was even an essay<\/a> exploring how Lion King portrayed a child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grief process. But I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t definitively say as a child that I processed that scene as death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to 2020, when I have my first proper encounter with loss. This time, I was very aware and present that someone who was once here, in reality, was no longer there. I attended my first funeral at the end of 2020. I was actively processing and aware that this was death and loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, let’s talk about Big Bong. The friendly (yet slightly unsettling and irritating) imaginary friend from Inside Out<\/em><\/a>. I first viewed Inside Out<\/em> in college. That movie certainly hit me in the emotions, but I was more into the main characters (Sadness, Joy) than Bing Bong. In 2020, I rewatched the film with a friend. Tell me why I was heartbroken as I watched Bing Bong (spoiler?) sacrifice himself and jump to his death\/oblivion? I actually teared up! Even though I had seen that film years before, that was the first time I felt moved like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell, I firmly believe that animation actually aids in processing some parts of adulthood more than people give it credit for. Call it a little cheat code to adulting, if you will. In fact, I had a fantastic conversation at Street Level (where Mildsauce content is created in the physical realm) with some coworkers. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t about 401ks or cryptocurrency, but it was actually about the very thing we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t talk about\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Bruno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tanya Jaramilla<\/a> (Chief of Operations at Urban Gateways\/ Street Level) mentioned being a parent and watching Encanto with her daughter. She stressed that the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153message\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of these films is usually had in tandem with conversations being held in the household<\/em>. The message is truly received when one is cognizant of the issues portrayed on screen. A fun family with superpowers versus an incredibly complex family working through intergenerational trauma.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I seen these family dynamics\/ situations before<\/a>? Haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I been exposed to these messages and conversations before? What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s different now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by @childrennaturenetwork<\/a> on Nappy.co<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Of course my viewing of Lion King<\/em> when I was five was completely <\/em>different. Of course I immediately resonated and reacted to the matriarchal power structure in Turning Red<\/em>. Of course I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been reflecting on how intergenerational trauma has affected my family since viewing Encanto<\/em>. Of course I felt something different when Bing Bong died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like so many of us, I am still defrosting from my childhood. I was tasked with picking out a career at the age of 18. I live in constant disdain and confusion at taxes, insurance, and all the like. Growing up I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had to figure out that things take time. Growing up I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve figured out that rugs are insanely expensive. Setting up wi-fi is the most unnecessarily time-consuming process in the world and it makes me want to go off the grid every single time I move. Growing up I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve figured out that the majority of people ask for help with their taxes. Growing up I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned that we all have that inner child in us, begging to be tended to and sometimes set free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, I now have a name to call the unbalanced power structures and systems in place in this country and the world. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m constantly upset that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153quick fix\u00e2\u20ac\u009d button. There are no animated movie montages to kick in and show me quickly solving all the problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find so much solace in realizing that growing up means realizing that honestly, nobody knows what they’re doing even if they won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t admit or talk about it. Some may play it off real smooth, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all truly stumbling forward in life and seeing what sticks. I look at my five-year plan and find peace in remembering Rihanna saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Only God knows, girl. We make plans and God laughs, right?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment below, because we want to know: Is there a life lesson\/cheat code you remember from childhood that you learned from animation? Or any media?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mildsauce invited five young journalists to reflect on the theme \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Growing Up<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. These podcasts range from intergenerational conversations to figuring out taxes, to feeling hesitant about stepping out into the world, and so much more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This month, we imagine what the cheatcode to truly growing up looks li<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":2243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[243,333],"tags":[336,245,338,334,337,335,340,339],"class_list":{"0":"post-2238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-editorials","8":"category-the-growing-up-issue","9":"tag-animation","10":"tag-editorial","11":"tag-encanto","12":"tag-growing-up","13":"tag-inside-out","14":"tag-pixar","15":"tag-taxes","16":"tag-the-lion-king"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Cheat Code to Growing Up - Mildsauce<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This month, we imagine what the cheatcode to truly growing up looks like.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Cheat Code to Growing Up - Mildsauce\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This month, we imagine what the cheatcode to truly growing up looks like.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mildsauce\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-09T15:15:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-22T21:51:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1674\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2114\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ty'Kira Smalls\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ty'Kira Smalls\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/\",\"name\":\"The Cheat Code to Growing Up - Mildsauce\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-09T15:15:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-22T21:51:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5621b8ff2637bf70e9de3eff3743beb5\"},\"description\":\"This month, we imagine what the cheatcode to truly growing up looks like.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg\",\"width\":1674,\"height\":2114},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Cheat Code to Growing Up\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/\",\"name\":\"Mildsauce\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5621b8ff2637bf70e9de3eff3743beb5\",\"name\":\"Ty'Kira Smalls\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a1249955e3c0e000888439a2975642eda2135c7658d17dbfb6f8e74c7a0ec33?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a1249955e3c0e000888439a2975642eda2135c7658d17dbfb6f8e74c7a0ec33?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ty'Kira Smalls\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/author\/tsmalls\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Cheat Code to Growing Up - Mildsauce","description":"This month, we imagine what the cheatcode to truly growing up looks like.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Cheat Code to Growing Up - Mildsauce","og_description":"This month, we imagine what the cheatcode to truly growing up looks like.","og_url":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/","og_site_name":"Mildsauce","article_published_time":"2022-06-09T15:15:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-22T21:51:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1674,"height":2114,"url":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ty'Kira Smalls","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ty'Kira Smalls","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/","url":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/","name":"The Cheat Code to Growing Up - Mildsauce","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-09T15:15:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-22T21:51:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5621b8ff2637bf70e9de3eff3743beb5"},"description":"This month, we imagine what the cheatcode to truly growing up looks like.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Growing-Up-Cover-by-Rozzie-Cribbs.jpg","width":1674,"height":2114},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/2022\/06\/09\/the-cheat-code-to-growing-up\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Cheat Code to Growing Up"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/","name":"Mildsauce","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#\/schema\/person\/5621b8ff2637bf70e9de3eff3743beb5","name":"Ty'Kira Smalls","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a1249955e3c0e000888439a2975642eda2135c7658d17dbfb6f8e74c7a0ec33?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1a1249955e3c0e000888439a2975642eda2135c7658d17dbfb6f8e74c7a0ec33?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ty'Kira Smalls"},"url":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/author\/tsmalls\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mildsauce.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}