The Childhood Myth I Believed Without Question - LOH #300

Growing up, I believed a lot of things from my parents and some adults around me without questioning them. I didn't have to think through whatever I was being told but believed in everything, whether true or false, with my innocent mind. As long as the information is coming from an adult, they are true; no argument. 😀

Now, I could look back to some of those beliefs and laugh out loud; the mind of a child is so funny and so free and innocent.

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One of those things I believed as a child that I later found out was not true was that if I eat rice a lot, then a rice tree would start growing right from my stomach and through my head, and then it would sprout out, and everyone could see a rice tree on my head.

Why did my parents and older siblings have to lie to me about this? because I hate to eat any other food but rice. This lie wasn't only about me. It was a common lie by most African parents who are struggling with their kids over eating different food that could give the body the needed nutrients to develop well. Rice is a popular food most children love, and for someone like me, I loved to eat only rice everyday. Once you give me another food, I will cry all day and will choose to starve instead. So what a creative lie by my parents, and I fell for the lie.

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If not for how poor my mind was then, how could I believe that cooked rice could germinate from my stomach? 🤦

Whenever I think of having a rice tree grow on my head, I will be terrified and forced to eat other food like beans, plantains, potatoes, etc.; otherwise it will be rice every day, a food that can only give my body carbohydrates. I didn't care about that, but my parent did, and so did the lie.

Those days, I imagined roots of the rice tree spreading through my stomach. I imagined if it had branches and how I would look; I also imagined having leaves grow from my head. Now thinking about this, it sounds ridiculous, but it felt so real back then, hahaha.

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At some point, I was scared of eating rice, but yet, I couldn't resist eating it every Sunday at least. Mum told me that eating it twice a week is moderate and the tree wouldn't grow on my head. I was conscious of following her instructions because I couldn't imagine having a garden in my stomach. 😀

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But then, I grew older to become exposed to real knowledge. I started learning science in school and realised I was living in lies. No seed can germinate from a stomach because there is no soil, no sunlight and the right condition for a plant to thrive. Again, cooked food cannot grow. I am wondering why I believed in this lie. I know Mum also told me that if I am not careful with swallowing orange seeds, the tree will also grow on my head. Maybe seeds can grow, but not from my stomach, but it's sad to believe her and other adults that rice could also grow in my stomach, lol. The stomach is never fertile farmland in the first place, but it's all in the past now, and I grew to know better.

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Thinking about this lie I was made to believe it is true; I don't blame my parents and my older siblings. It's their way of teaching me to choose eating a balanced diet rather than sticking to a particular class of food, even though the teachings aren't scientifically correct, but it's all good.

Childhood stages were exciting; we believed the impossible, and we imagined a lot without limits and without worrying about bills to pay or facing any serious responsibilities like adults do.

Life was very simple as a child. 😍

Images are mine!