Gen “Why?”

- Rachayita

(Because silence isn’t wisdom when the world is burning.) 

We’re young... not clueless— just constantly underestimated. Old enough to question, too young for our answers to matter. Every time we speak, they tell us,“You’ll understand when you’re older.” But by the time we’re older, will there be anything left worth understanding? 

Frustration isn’t a teenage drama. It isn’t mood swings or hormonal static. It’s watching the world fall apart while being told to memorize 'Mitochondria is the powerhouse of cell.' It’s being taught “liberty” in Civics class while protestors are jailed for dissent. It’s hearing that “education is power” in a system that skips genocide, whitewashes and edits out revolutions, and sanitizes every truth that might disturb the comfort of power. 

We’re not apathetic.

We’re exhausted—because we are taught obedience before thought.Taught how to ace exams, not how to interrogate systems.

Because when we ask why, they hand us silence dressed up in the robes of wisdom.When we demand change,they call us “rebels without a cause.”But the cause is everywhere— in our classrooms, in the streets, in the news cycle spinning like a rigged roulette wheel. We grow up watching the planet decay: forests auctioned, oceans strangled, indigenous lands barcoded and sold. 

Our worth is reduced to numbers. Grades. Ranks. Cutoffs. No one asks what we think— just whether we “qualify.” But qualify for what? A collapsing system clinging to its own illusion of order? 

They tell us:

Dream big—but stay inside the lines.

Be creative—but don’t question the script.

Speak up—but don’t make anyone uncomfortable. 

We see leaders rise on lies.We see religion wielded like a weapon.We see women regulated, workers drained,truth buried under hashtags and half-truths.And yet, we’re told to smile and call it growing up. 

Frustration comes from seeing too much and being told to act like we don’t.

It’s the weight of carrying a mind that notices every crack while being told to walk like the floor is smooth. 

No—this isn’t rebellion for rebellion’s sake. This is a refusal to go numb. A refusal to pretend that this world is fine if we just follow instructions. 

We’re not “just going through a phase.” We’re living in a world that wants us silent, grateful, obedient— but somehow also responsible for fixing what they broke. 

Frustration, in this context, isn’t weakness. It’s the static that happens when consciousness collides with control.

Maybe that’s the point— Maybe it's the signal. Not that we’re lost. But that we’re finally seeing clearly. And we won’t unsee it.