Many people refer to me as a naive woman, lacking the populous knowledge but harnessing enough wisdom that surpasses my youthful host’s physique. I question how the laws humans create restrict our daily actions, our interactions with other humans, our regards of status upon our peers, and the self-worth we place on ourselves. Yet, the laws governing us are considered to be “normal,” a compromise between freedom and peer pressure.
I was born in the city, well-funded and regulated by the government. Right across my humble abode lies the paved cemented streets. Each morning, it becomes a habit to close and shut the windows from toxic petroleum air emitted from cars, motorcycles, and trucks. There are not a lot of space to provide homes for many people. Not a lot of nature survives in the overpopulated city; a lot of plants are no longer untouched by humans. Our environment is heavily polluted, outdoors and indoors, with high percentage of carcinogens or toxins such as formaldehyde, ozone, and benzene. We have ravaged our environment and our rewards will be our lack of privacy, lack of space, and lack of awareness for our health, mental and physical.
As a child, I thought buses and expresses were free of charge. My misconceptions of public transportation stemmed from my confusion of the name “public” as a utility that could be used freely by everyone. I also had the preconceived notion that since I did not pay for the transportation expenses, the travel fares were free for many people. Perhaps my thinking would be different had I seen my parents directly pay for the rides. Even when my confusion on public transportation cleared, I was not able to use public transportation often. Born as a young girl, I was deemed to have a weak constitution. Thus, going outside alone would be too dangerous for me as I could not effectively defend myself. Still, I could only continue on with my life.
I believe the city has spoilt many children from my generation, the millennials and generation Z. The advances in technology made tasks much easier for us to finish chores and communicate with each other. The washing machine made our hands soft and bare from the lack of needs to manually wash and scrub our own clothing. The convenience of fast transportation and fast food chains had weakened our eyesight and made our bodies heavy and stiff. We no longer need to hunt for food, build for shelter, or travel long distances by foot to meet one another. Technology has given us a lot of free time to think, create more ideas to make more technology, and create laws and ethics that restrict us to be proper ladies and gentlemen.
Forwarding to the present, my opinion on society is that the United States is very capitalistic in terms of profits and monetary gains. I have recently been very shocked to discover that diapers and feminine hygiene products are now considered tax free in California for the next two years, ending in January 1, 2022. There are not many free products and services within California, so the newly introduced Senate Bill came as a pleasant surprise. In the views of many others, the tax targets and exploits women and children because diapers and menstrual products are a necessity required by their physique. Females are not born with the choice to choose whether or not they will have menstruation cycles. The same logic applies to babies. These events and opinions essentially shape me to become who I am today, the Naive Healthy Lady Lu.
by Naive Health Lady Lu January 12, 2020
Naive Healthy Lady Lu 