Portrait sketch in words of well, me.

I can't quite remember how old I was when this exchange of information occurred. I must have been old enough to be able to remember it now, but young (and naïve) enough to believe in it. I remember standing in a corridor outside my classroom when I overheard a friend talking under her breath about tongues and babies. Curious, I went over to her and another girl she was whispering to and asked what they were talking about. Her eyes widened and she leaned closer to me, and said, “When a boy's tongue goes into a girls mouth, the girl becomes pregnant and can have a baby!” Completely ignorant of how babies were made, and utterly disgusted by the mere idea of some boy sticking his tongue into my mouth, I believed her until I was about 9 years old, when I found that the process of baby-making was not nearly as simple as tongues in mouths.

When I was 11 years old, after learning what sex was, I remember being in my youth group in church, and learning about boys and girls. The differences, the characteristics we acquire as we get older, the social boundaries the church intended to implement, the sins that we would be committing should we decide to disobey said boundaries. For instance, boys were to keep a respectful distance between themselves and a fellow female Christian at all time. Close proximity was not an option, and even sitting next to a member of the opposite sex would raise questions and eyebrows. Girls were not to wear clothes that were too tight, too skimpy, too suggestive so that our brothers in Christ would not be tempted to sin. Any rebellious behaviour will be brought to the attention of the pastor and both parties would be counselled till they have learned the error of their ways and repent, sinners, repent!

At least, that's what it sounded like to my 11-year old self. The way I understood it then was different from the way I understand it now. The same concept applies to just about everything else I've learned over the years. I understand now that the information I have consumed over the course of my seemingly short life has not really changed – I've just learned to understand, perceive and process this information in a different, more complicated manner. Information consumed during a certain period of time changes the way one thinks, acts and basically lives their lives during that particular period of time. For instance, the knowledge of how babies are made and the, ahem, processes involved didn't affect me as much as it does now as compared to when I was 2 years old.

Has the information I've consumed over the years shaped me into the person I am today? Of course. But what kind of person is that? What kind of information have I been consuming? Would you consider being well-informed about the going-ons of the fashion world as important, or constructive to one's character and personality? If I told you that I was, admittedly, somewhat ignorant about what happens in politics but knowledgable when it comes to music, would you label me as dumb, or naïve? Perhaps.I suppose you could say that that particular type of information does not appetise nor tickle my tastebuds. But I am still willing to sample new 'flavors' and 'cuisines', and hopefully, learn from these experiences.