From Adolescence to Adulthood

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From Adolescence to Adulthood
The excerpt “Handed My Own Life” depicts a child learning the art of perception and how it applies to their adult life. At first, the child can only see what is placed right in front of him. For Christmas he wanted a microscope and thought that upon receiving the microscope complete with test tubes he would be able to recognize such things as “hay infusion” and “diatomaceous earth.” When he tried to see them and encounters difficulty, he learns that you must look past the obvious. It took him years to fully understand what that meant.
In the spring when he finally finds an amoeba that he has been looking for since fall, he runs upstairs to share the exciting news with his family. His parents were in the living room relaxing and let him know that they were happy he had found what he was looking for but were going to remain upstairs. Although nothing was said directly, the boy understood that he was now an individual, no longer a dependant of his parents for moral support. He had essentially been, “Handed [his] own life” (Dillard 149). He understood that having his own life did not mean that his parents had abandoned him, rather that “[his] days and nights were [his] own to fill” (Dillard 149). His parents were done setting rules and making decisions for him. “Anything was possible. The sky was the limit” (Dillard 149).
In many ways this story is reminiscent of the journey from adolescence to adulthood. The child in this story is learning that eventually decision making becomes a part of life and that the choices to be made are based on individual judgment. The author’s purpose in writing the story was an internal need to express feelings that may have been repressed. The approach was self expressive with a creative approach. The story does not come out and talk bluntly about growing up but does it through a young child’s tale of receiving a microscope and ...