Ignorant vs Innocent

Chinese New Year is just around the corner! Though 2021 means a whole different kind of vibe for celebration, it still does not stop me doing one of the most important elements during pre-CNY - gotong-royong (big cleanup at home).

         I had spent my last week of January literally just doing that. From wiping the walls, dusting the drawers, dumping broken stuff to recycling old clothing, it was hell lot of work. 

        In the midst of cleaning up, there was no doubt that we would find out some past memories kept in somewhere around. This was where I found out the beauty of innocent childhoods and my past pure ignorant of this ‘cruel’ world.        

IGNORANT vs INNOCENT

According to Wikipedia, being “ignorant” describes a person in the state of being unaware, who deliberately ignore or disregard important information or facts, whereas, being “innocent” describes someone with a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing.

          It basically means that being ignorant (无知wú zhī) is uneducated and without knowledge of something. Being innocent (天真tiān zhēn) is free from guilt and naïve. 

My pie: Ignorant or Innocent?

            During my tidy-up with my photo albums, I came across my primary school magazine. It made me recall back a conversation I had with one of my classmates back when I was at Form 1. That classmate told me that she actually disliked me before during the primary school times. And I was like WHAT?!

            Okay. I got to admit that my primary school times is still something that I am proud of until right now. I got good results, enjoyed my fun times with my friends and pretty much did the stuff every innocent kid do. Then, someone suddenly came to me and crashed it by saying this is all an illusion?

            Now, I don't know whether I was too innocent or ignorant. I have zero knowledge that my classmate didn't like me back then. I was definitely just enjoying my innocent fun times with a bunch of my friends. 

             I couldn't really recall back why she disliked me, but I think it got to do with me being the favorite student at my class. I used to be the student who was labeled as “the good student” in my class by my teachers. I was too ignorant? to find out that my surrounding friends might get green eyes from it. 

            To be honest, I was quite in my own bubble back in primary school. It was all just having fun: roleplay for then-popular HK drama, playing poker (not allowed in school), comparing exam scores, and gossiping about teachers (not encouraged ah). I was just having my own innocent? sweet childhood.

            What do you think? Am I ignorant or innocent? Comment down below!

“Go for it when you are still Innocent and Naïve”

            The other day, I was invited to join Vivy Yusof, the Co-Founder of Fashion Valet and the dUCk group for a virtual party with Monsta Asia. She shared her insights about her entrepreneurship journey and how she tackled life challenges.

          A particular small talk she had with some of us in a breakout room during Zoom meeting left my mind lingering about. When asked about the way to take to enroll into the world of entrepreneurship, I suggested to delve into the relevant field one is interested and gain experience from there, if given chance. However, Vivy had a different take on this.

           She strongly recommended to go for it when we were still young and innocent. Without worrying too much on the judgments from outsiders and tied commitments from adulthood, there is no better time than doing it while we still have that naivety and the burning drive.

        Undoubtedly, what she preached got me pondering. What she said made sense. It was even somewhat true in this 'cruel' world! Most of the time, we tend to forget and put aside our “drives” when pursuing something. We receive too much pressure and burdens from deadlines and the rapid pace from the world that we slowly forget our “Why”. This world has changed us into someone we never want to be, sometimes even the one we hate the most. 

Interesting Quote

       This is a thought-provoking answer I found in Quora when I was researching about the difference between these 2 words:

"Innocence is a gift with an expiry date.
Ignorance is a choice with effects reaching into eternity.
Ignorance is knowing, but refusing to acknowledge. Innocence is lacking the capability to comprehend.
Innocence is having not yet explored the mysteries of the heart's desires.
Ignorance is not knowing your heart has desires.
Innocence is knowing that there is bad in the world but choosing to believe that good will always prevail. Ignorance is knowing that there is bad but choosing to just let it go."

- Ketan Chandak, Quora

Do you think I was ignorant or innocent back when I was in primary school?

Do you think being innocent is better than being ignorant? Is there any example from your real-life? Share the story down below so we can have each other's back! 😊