Questions That Kept Me Awake at Night as a Kid

Picture this: a quiet and quirky ten-year-old girl awake at 1 am contemplating life's largest unanswered questions. No Google, no one to ask but Jesus in prayer, and a teddy bear named Ralphy. We've all been there, right? Mind running a hundred miles an hour, wheels spinning, and morning inching closer by the second. Oh, if only someone could just tell me which came first! The chicken, or the EGG? Well, this one is for my fellow neuro-divergent creatives out there.

Last night, colors and patterns were dancing wildly across my closed eyelids. I pondered ideas from 'Who thought to eat an egg in the first place?' to 'Honestly, what is going on under the ocean these days?' and it occurred to me that I never want to stop asking questions. Now, I ask things about time travel and parallel universes and not so much of things about unicorns and mermaids... wait, yes, I do ask those things! Not much has changed. Here are a few questions that continue to boggle my mind:

1. When and why did we create condiments? Were dips and sauces made to conquer dryness?

2. Why is it so true that we really can imagine what it is like for our tounges to like any object or surface? WHY?

3. Seriously, does my cat actually know the answers to the universe but because she can't (or doesn't choose to) speak a human language we will never know? She seems strangely omnipresent.

4. Do smaller animals have less feelings, thoughts, emotions, etc? Does my fish care about me at all?

5. Does wildlife have feelings about being hunted? I just want to know.

6. Can trees FEEL? Can they?

7. What even is cereal?

8. When did humans realize they can dance?

9. Do aliens think we are ugly/scary? We probably are.

10. Why do we dream? What are dreams and seriously what is up with sleep paralysis? Why do we have recurring dreams? (Honestly, this should be its own post.)

11. Why do people have irrational fears? Why am I so afraid of the ocean? What is so scary about clowns? Honestly, they are terrifying.

12. What was up with the Jurrasic period? Dinosaurs keep me up most nights. Maybe, I should have gone into paleontology.

13. Honestly, what even is money?

14. Why do we think so much about the creation of the world? It's so tiring.

15. Lastly, why do we live on the same planet but are so, so separated by many things but especially borders and languages? Do you think it is a similar vibe on other planets?

Now, I know some of you are thinking, Google it! But, dammit, Jason, I don't have the time! If I researched every passing thought, every random question that burned my brain my wife would probably divorce me and I'd certainly lose my job. Let's be real, we all search the web frequently for answers to our most strenuous questions. Don't we?

I suppose, another question I have is this. Why do we all have so many questions? So many Why's and What if's and When's... Do we ever reach a point in life when we just press pause on the pressing questions? Do the questions only increase with age? I, for one, love that we don't know everything and we never will. There is something nice about the Great Unknown and the many paradoxes of life.

The next time you find yourself tossing and turning in bed over a question such as 'Why are there so many riddles about chickens?' consider writing them down. I'd love to hear what rattles your mind and makes you scratch your head. Stay curious!

Curiosity is one of the greatest secrets of happiness. - Bryant H. McGill