I was a kid, we were flying to Florida, and the flight attendant asked me if I wanted to visit the cockpit. She kept her hands on my shoulders while the pilot shook my hand, and someone pinned a plastic set of wings on my shirt. Mostly I remember how everyone in the cockpit acted like this was a Really Big Deal. I wasn’t into it—I probably wanted to get back to my book—but I acted like I was, because I was afraid to look ungrateful.
So much of childhood is that way, isn’t it? People expecting a certain reaction from you (usually gratitude), and you not feeling it. So you learn to act. To make your appearance match expectations. And they call that growing up.