I find Richeh's perspective on life really fascinating because I used to have this exact same mindset when I was a child.
It boils down to "I hate being forced to learn about/do things I dont enjoy and only want to learn about/do things I like to preserve my sense of self identity". For example she hates tests because you're required to use a specific method to get the answer, and she prefers doing things her own way. She also thinks if she learns too much about things she doesn't like doing, she'll change too much as a person & won't be herself anymore.
On the surface that's pretty childish. Eventually everyone has to do things they don't enjoy. Because I used to think like this, I hated school & only put in any effort when I liked the subject. I loved writing, so I worked hard at stuff like Language & Literature. I never got very good grades in most other things until I got older & went to college. I always regret not studying harder & used to really hate my past self for being that way.
But I also think that having this mindset saved me from going down some bad paths as a kid/early teenager. I knew a lot of other boys my age who fell into edgy alt right culture because these weirdos they saw on YouTube & other places got in their heads & told them that they can only be loved and respected if they take the red pill or push down their emotions, never open up to their friends, treat women like property instead of people and make being an "alpha" their whole personality.
Meanwhile I was exposed to the same stuff at that age & thought: "Sure, I COULD do all that, but then I wouldn't be me anymore."
I didn't see the point was in changing for other people to like you, because then you won't like yourself. If people only like this "fake" version of you that you created to please them & hate the real you, what is that even worth?
Richeh's mindset might sound immature(cause it is) but there's a strong maturity at the center of it. She'll never compromise who she is for anyone else. That's something that a lot of grown adults have still never learned to do.
I'm really proud of younger me for teaching himself that lesson so early on. He went through so much bullying, peer pressure, and even abuse from kids and adults who told him he was too weird, too dark-skinned, too effeminate or unmasculine. But he never changed. Not unless it was a necessary change in order to grow up.
I've made a lot of mistakes, I've learned and grown a lot. But thanks to my younger self, I'm still my own person. I've never changed my identity just to please anyone else, and that really is worth something in the long run. If I'd changed myself back then, I wouldn't have found people today who love me for me.
All the apprentices are interesting in their own unique ways but Richeh is my favorite because her story made me appreciate the child I used to be. I don't know if he would be proud of me, but I hope he knows that I'm proud of him. I'm proud of us both.
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