Note: This is not written by me! I asked my 13 year old daughter to share her thoughts on wanting to get vaccinated. I’ve made no edits.
With all the new vaccination rules and enforcement, it’s easy to say “just get vaccinated”. For any fully developed adult, that may be easy, but for somebody who still lives under the roof of their parents and who can’t even be legally considered an adult, it seems like something unreachable, without the permission of your guardians.
Especially with people shaming you for not getting vaccinated, always a question of “why aren’t you vaccinated?”, to which you just answer that you’re still trying to find the right clinic, as to not outright say your parents don’t wanna vaccinate you. After all, nobody wants to hang out with the unvaccinated, sick kids who will spread the deadly, horrible disease, right?
Being vaccinated is almost like a social class now. The vaccinated people are at the top of this hierarchy, and the unvaccinated ones stay at the bottom.
If I had the autonomy to choose, I would 100% get vaccinated.
This isn’t because I’m some apocalypse-fearing lunatic who never leaves the house- quite the opposite.
I just want the privilege of a normal life- going outside with friends, having fun with people, going to places that I could go to before.
But now it’s unreachable.
And what makes this already crappy situation even worse is the amount of embarrassment you feel, knowing everyone around you gets to enjoy their everyday life, while you have to sit and wait, until maybe, just maybe your parents will let you get vaccinated.
I know the risks of this vaccine, but without it, I will slowly lose permission to leave my house and go places. I miss the times when I could meet up with friends, without having their mothers tell them “they can’t hang out with unvaccinated kids.”.
I didn’t choose to be unvaccinated- my parents did. Why do I have to suffer the consequences of THEIR actions?
I know they want the best for me, I do. I just can’t help feeling angry at them. Because I’m having to face this ‘status’ of being unvaccinated. And I think it’s unfair- there are people out there who will shame anyone unvaccinated, without looking at other factors.
What if they have some rare condition and the vaccine could affect them?
What if they can’t do it because they’re minors who need adults’ permission?
But at the end of the day, nobody cares. Because all they want us to do is get vaccinated and hopefully not die because that extra hospital bed is needed for the covid patients.
Ultimately, I do understand where my parents come from. But it is also hard knowing that I can not do the things I used to be able to do before this.
Parents, don’t blame your child for wanting a vaccine due to the internet.
Some kids just wanna go back to normal life and without it, they can’t. Why strip them of some fun just so they won’t get covid?
Add to all the anti-vaxxers out there who will probably read this and call me an “SJW”, “communist”, “leftie” or “brainwashed”, please take the time to cleanse your brain and learn how to read. Sorry, but you’re quite immature if the only thing you took away from this is whatever negative thing you have to say. And that’s pretty embarrassing, don’t you have kids and stuff? Like geez, grow up.
And with that, I think I’ll stop with the condescending remarks:) thank you for reading if you did, if you didn’t please do, as this is the literary masterpiece of the century
My first reaction is surprise that you are not begging your parents to move. What you describe is a toxic environment.
I have only known your father through Twitter for about 18 months. I would like to reflect to you how I see him. He takes every issue of interest without an agenda and with seriousness and intelligence. He has the ability to look at an issue like a multi-faceted diamond, turning it this way and that, to make sure he sees every side. It is why so many trust his analyses. I don’t want to pull the age card, but some of us remember things like the Tuskegee experiments and understand that governments do not always have our best interests in mind. What is being pushed on young adults has the possibility of being life altering, and has been for many who have not done well. I would encourage you to look at your father not as the denier of what you want but as one who has done some of the best in-depth research and has found the risks are far too many, some which may not be known for years, for a daughter he loves beyond measure. The best parents want everything for their kids yet he is willing to face your displeasure. That alone might tell you how bad these shots are.
You may want to think about reaching out to other unvaccinated kids. My guess is their parents love them as much as yours. And, for certain, they aren’t SJWs 🙂
Very well written. The kid has talent. Must be adopted. :) But mostly it shows tons of character that she will express herself like that.
I hate to tell her, but being 13 SUUUUUUCKS. Always has, always will. The vaccine is just your version of "well my parents won't let me watch MTV" Or "my parents won't let me play video games" or.....
This too shall pass, young lady. When you're 23, you'll realize that your parents are the smartest people on the planet.