Although It May Be Gone

I’m not that certain of much of anything anymore. It seems like just last week we had nine planets in the solar system with the possibility of a tenth. What ever happened to “My Very Eager Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas”? I guess they have to change the phrase to “My Very Eager Mother Just Sent Us Nothing”. I swear, everything seems to be getting increasingly negative. I remember when I was in Middle School, my art class got to paint walls in the school and with our spare paint we painted the stools in our class. I found out not too long ago that they repainted my middle school in white and tan to make the school “look newer”. I went back to see the paint, and although it looked newer, it also looked more sterile.

When I’m reflecting, I like to go through my art folders. In them, I see an elementary school project; a crude depiction of our solar system—Pluto included. In my Middle School folder I know I have another rendition of the nine planets and sun, not so rudimentary this time. I debate whether or not I should draw it once again, but decided that I was not up for an inner debate about whether or not to include our former ninth planet. It’s not like it disappeared or anything, but it’s not a major structure or planet, like the asteroid belt. It’s there but no one ever includes it—I didn’t even learn about it until high school. Everything is changing, and I cannot understand it all. Half of these changes are pointless, too. I think to myself in the late hours of sleep and not sleep, wondering if they will continue to teach kids about Pluto. Is it just some Big-But-No-Cigar rock floating out there? Acknowledged by old geezers who try to enlighten children of what used to be (“Back in my day…we used to have NINE planets! And f’ a li’l while there we had TEN!”)?

Sure, even though things change it doesn’t mean that they never existed and that even if Pluto isn’t technically a planet anymore or my mural is no longer on display, I still know they existed. I know that whatever art I make will have existed, and that everything, great or small, will have its moment to shine.