when I was young and full of grace

My birthday today. Not much has changed since last year.

Today at work we got talking about how as kids we are just beautifully as we are without realising that there are social norms that we are supposed to fit in to. We empty ourselves into the world without filter and gulp it back in likewise.
Then, at some point we realise that our natural state - let's call it grace- starts to meet with disapproval or mockery or aggression from others. The Group Beast takes over and we sense that if we want our lives to be easier we must adapt and change.
So we change to fit in. We change to smooth our passage through days. We change because we get the feeling that our state of grace is unacceptable. We become removed from it: we adapt, we survive.
Looking back, I wonder who that wee person was before he needed to fit in. Looking back I'm heartened to see that there he is working towards his photography badge with a haircut that only a mother could love. It is heartening to find myself in not a dissimilar position on my birthday all these years later.

But -sshhh - you're on your honour not to tell.