⌛ Jealousy is the route of early sin⌛
When you think of a kindergarten field trip committing a crime doesn't usually come to mind. As suggested by many people and sources jealousy and envy are some of the most detrimental and soul polluting things one can feel. I can agree such things drive many a respectable man to lose his wits and go mad. While most people believe such polluting ideas cannot penetrate the innocent mind of a child, I for one have evidence that it can.
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Travel back to the kindergarten field trip to the Zoo. I climbed into the back of my friends SUV. I got in excitedly as I sat right next to him. I of course thought as soon as we started driving we would be at our destination in a short while, but I was of course horribly wrong. The ride dragged on for way too long and was gruelingly boring. Usually in a long car ride I would pass the time by looking out of the window, but all I could see out of my window was bland boring office buildings. I looked over at my friend Matt and saw that he was playing an Indiana Jones game on his DS. I watched him play it for a while. This game seemed fun and somewhat interesting. I honestly would settle for anything just to end this feeling of complete and total boredom. I reached out my hand and motioned for him to give it to me. "Let me play Matt!" I said excitedly hoping that this boredom that had consumed me would finally be thwarted and my joyful ADHD ridden self would return, but alas that game was a dream that was soon broken.
"No." Matt simply replied as he continued to solve one of the games puzzles and ignored or denied all of my future requests to play. The rest of the ride was boring.
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After what felt to me as an eternity the grey prison of an SUV drove into the parking and found a parking space near all of the other cars. I and all the other kids were soon excitedly walking and sprinting to the Zoo's entrance with such enthusiasm. In this moment the other kids and I were happy. For these few moments of our lives we were truly happy, so happy that we simply ignored most of the adults' requests for us to halt and to be wary of any approaching traffic in this maze like parking lot.
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The day at the large Zoo was like a peak into a world so close to our own, but so alien to a child like me. They had large enclosures containing beautiful creatures of the wild. This is what I can openly say helped spark my strong feelings for animals and what ultimately formed me into an animal rights activist. The day itself went by pretty quickly and I have little to no memory of it. Towards the end of the day we saw the beautiful and colorful Macaws and some other assorted birds. Towards the exist a lady was educating other about extinction and what we were doing to the wild. The chaperones and teachers decided to sit us down and have us learn about these things. The idea of the human race slowly killing off certain species till they simply stopped existing stuck with me. "Why do we do this?" I wondered not quite grasping why we would kill off entire species. About 7 years later I realized we did it , because we were selfish creatures.
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As we were on our way out of this beautiful yet somewhat sad place some of the kids had spotted a gift shop and were forcing their parents to buy them things, while some of the kids simply strode in and bought toys and plushies with their own money. I looked at this shop with all of its goodies and its stunning interior design. Soon we were guided to the side of the store were we waited for the last of the kids to finish their shopping so we could go to the nearby park for lunch. In this short while I saw all of the other kids excitedly playing with their toys with pure joy on their small faces. Then like a needle was being driven into my chest I felt it, a sharp pain that spread to every inch of my body until it was all I could feel. This was jealousy in its purest form. "Give me one second I forgot to buy something!" I muttered out as I ran into the gift shop. I didn't care what I had to do to get one as long as I got one. I walked to the back of the store and grabbed the first thing I could. It was a small rainbow chameleon toy. I twiddled it around in my small hands then I clenched it to my side and tried to hide it as best as I could. I then began to walk to the exit of the store, but my body began to shake. "What if they have those things that sound an alarm when you take something!?!??! WHAT IF I GET IN TROUBLE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" These thoughts clouded my brain. Then the next thing I know I had slipped out of the store chameleon in hand. I felt good as I rushed back and joined the group parading around the small toy. I soon felt guilt starting to consume me, but I didn't give the toy back. "It was mine now" I thought. I at that moment became a seasoned criminal. A master chameleon thief if you would. I felt somewhat good afterwards. I felt tougher, stronger, and smarter. That was the first time I had ever used my mind for nefarious purposes, but not the last time.
