Born as a Tiger, Can't Live Like a Dog

When I was a kid, I had this thing that everything would always worked itself out. I never had a worry that a problem would ever stay a problem. I felt as if the universe just loved me and family as if we were the chosen ones. I vividly remember always thinking “it’ll work out, it always does.”

I can’t tell if it was because I was naive and wasn’t aware of the actual problems my parents faced, or maybe my parents were really good at not talking about those issues in front of me and handling it like an adult should (away from the children)... or maybe we really did have magic.

Yes, of course my parents had hardships, but I’d believe nothing would ever stay bad for long because our problems were always going to be fixed no matter what. God, the universe, or somebody, was watching over us and things would always be in our favor.... or so I thought.

I did well in everything I was involved in as a child. I feel like this solidified the mindset I had at the time. “Of course I’m going to do good! What’s the other option? Failure? Never heard of her.” It was like in my mind, I was literally unable to fail.

This makes me wonder; when did all the magic go away? when did I suddenly believe in failure? Without a doubt, I believe in failure now. I feel like I fail at everything. Instead of the universe being rigged in my favor, as it one did when i was a child, I now feel the opposite... but since when is this the case?

I read the lyric “born as a tiger, so I can’t live as a dog.” and it brought this thought to my attention. I was born with the universe on my side, guiding me down every path. Anything could be mine and I wholeheartedly believed i could have it. Born as a tiger.

How, and when, and why did I start accepting failure? When did I stop believing I could do anything? When did I decide that it's okay to settle? When did I agree to start living like a dog?