Dear Younger Self...and All Children,

Dear Younger Self...and All Children, 

   You know how you always want to grow up faster and are furious about how adults refuse to tell you about adult stuff? Well, as a person who recently stopped being a minor, I have something to tell you. The truth is, we adults don't keep adult stuff from you because we think you're not smart or mature enough to handle it. 
      We know you're smart, mature little beings...we just don't want the adult stuff to hurt you. We keep it from you because we're scared of adult stuff corrupting you. We're scared of it scarring you permanently and keeping you from developing into even smarter, more mature people. 
      For example...sex. We don't think you're too stupid to understand sex. We don't think you're too immature for it. Cognitively, you probably could understand it just fine. It's just that sex, pleasurable as it is, necessary as it is for human survival, also has the potential to hurt people badly. It can be used to exploit and traumatize people in some of the worst ways. It's like chocolate in that sense; chocolate tastes amazing, and the darker the chocolate, the more health benefits it has. However, eating too much chocolate can give you cavities, stomachaches, and diarrhea.  Only, the metaphorical stomachaches of sex hurt a thousand times more, both physically and especially mentally. Sex handled incorrectly can scar you for life. 
       So when we refuse to buy to buy you that short skirt, or forbid you to date, young ladies, it isn't because we don't want you to have fun. We just don't want bad people to take advantage of you and use your sexuality to hurt you badly.
        Same with not letting you see that violent movie, boys, girls, and children identifying as other genders; it isn't that we want to deprive you of cool explosions, and action scenes as much as possible. We just don't want you to have nightmares over a favorite character getting injured gruesomely or violence that's too scary. Or have you thinking violence is the only practical way to survive in a cruel world, because it's not. 
     In other words, we don't keep you innocent because we're anti-fun or because we don't respect you. We keep you innocent so as to protect you from the dangers inherent in the adult world as much as possible. It's not always the best method, but it works. 
      Sincerely, 
A new adult trying to function as an adult.