An Ode to Childhood

When we are children, everything is more colourful. Everything is bigger and louder and more exciting. The things we experience are all shiny and brand new, and our brains are like sponges, never bored, always craving information. It's not healthy to live in the past, I know that. But there's no harm in a little reminiscing. It's not that I'm not excited about what's still to come, because I am. However, I want to recall the feeling of utter freedom that comes only with being a child. That innocence and naivety that makes the world look like a playground. That serenity that can be achieved with a simple cuddle. When we are children we are carefree by nature, because there genuinely isn't anything worth worrying about. There is no pressure to be successful, unless it's in regards to a game of Monopoly. No need to impress people, unless there's a chance they'll give you a lolly.

Admittedly, I am a little reluctant to grow up. Sure, I can be mature when it matters. But does maturity mean forfeiting the things that excite me? Does it mean that I have to like gardening as opposed to climbing trees? Favour watching the news over watching The Lion King for example? And spend my Saturdays doing housework, rather than playing with my friends? Because that all sounds monstrous. No matter how old I am. When I was a teenager, I didn't feel I was missing out on anything, I was eager to be treated like an adult. Only now, that I have experienced the big wide world, have I come to the realisation that our childhood years are some of the greatest. If we didn't want to walk, we could be carried. We didn't have to decide what to do with our lives, because we didn't look past getting to school.  Tricky decisions like what to eat for dinner, and which socks to wear, were all made for us. Any problem could most likely be solved with a tasty treat or a kind word.

When you're a child you can be anything you want to be. A princess or a knight, an astronaut, a popstar. Endless possibilities, without the hindering knowledge of them being unlikely. The first thing I can remember wanting to be was a postie.  Riding a bicycle all day and delivering peoples' letters sounded delightful. I then jumped about between teacher, zookeeper, florist and detective, truly believing that I could be all these things. Perhaps I could have been, I'll never know. The point is, my glorious childhood brain imagined it, therefore I saw some truth in it. I didn't pick apart the negatives, like I would with anything nowadays. I didn't think about the salary or the hours or the hard work. Only the enjoyment. That's the power of a child's innocence.

Kids can get away with anything. They say something that would generally be incriminating and rude, but instead it's adorable. I would love to be able to tell people outright that they're annoying, but that just isn't acceptable from the lips of an adult. Children can ask endless questions, and although we may be exasperated, we will still continue answering them. A public tantrum will always be forgiven. Tears are greeted with sympathy, no matter how insignificant the problem is.

Special occasions are always more exhilarating when you're young too. Christmas is about new toys and pretty decorations and Santa Claus. Not about eating too much food, and drinking the day away, and cursing the hideous carols that someone insisted on playing. Birthdays are your special day where you dominate everyone's attention and there is an abundance of presents. You believe you're the most special kid in the world. Just like you believe that a giant bunny comes to your house bearing chocolate. And that a magical fairy is wiling to pay you for your grotty old tooth. A child can believe their life is a fairy tale, without any consequences. A adult living in dreamland is a concern, for a kid on the other hand, it's the definition of normality.

The days of childhood are filled with carefree enjoyment, endless fantasies and minimal complications. I envy my 10-year-old self.  I long for those days, the fun and the craziness and the chance to dream. But at the same time, I have independence, I still have new experiences every day and a long life stretching out before me. So although the lighthearted times may be seemingly behind me, I still have fun. I still have laughter, friends, and an imagination. Childish amusement is something to be embraced rather than evaded. To be young at heart is to have the best of both worlds. Let us look ahead to the incredible days we will encounter, and pay tribute to the ones we once had, never forgetting that dreams last forever. And things are never quite as bad as they seem.