Back in the Day When I Was Young(er)

Anyone remember the name of that song? The chorus goes "Back in the day when I was young/ I'm not a kid anymore/ but some days I said 'I wish I was a kid again'" I love that song, but I've never known the title or the artist for the song....

But I digress. Lately, I've been thinking about all the stuff I remember doing as a kid, and it's made me so nostalgic. Saturday morning cartoons, play dates, no real sense of time...The bits and pieces of my early childhood that I remember were always these random fragments in time-at one point I'm a toddler in diapers, the next I'm 3 yeas old watching Family Matters, wearing my favorite homemade sweater with a moose on it. I don't even remember the times when we were released from school, just seamlessly transitioning from running around the playground to opening presents Christmas morning.

One of my favorite things from my childhood was when my older brother and I used to make a fort out of our bunk beds (sheet tucked into the top bunk, pulled down and out and secured on the floor, like a tent). We used to have a ritual off climbing up to the top bunk and chanting "Camp Wacachookoomookoo," our beloved name for the pseudo-campsite. Usually this proceeded a Friday night of Pizza Hut, TGIF on ABC, and Kablam! on Nickelodeon.

Probably one of the best things about being a kid was the simple fact that the world really was your oyster, where you could be anything and you could do anything and, unless it was dangerous, no one really told you otherwise (I know they usually say that phrase when you become an adult, but when you think about it, our options for obtaining happiness become much more complex). If you wanted to be a ballerina, your parents bought you a tutu and sent you off to ballet classes. You wanted to be the next Sammy Sosa? Off to Little league you go. Firefighter? Well, that one was a bit tricky...I think they just bought you one of those firetrucks that lights up and maybe took you to a fire station, but by gosh your parents would support you no matter what. It was just so easy to choose to want to do something, and then drop it within days and move on to something totally new (no matter how much money was involved, we were able to win 'em over with kicks, screams, pouts and, the kicker, "I Love You!").

When we were kids, the world just seemed so magical, and we didn't really know much pain outside the realms of bruises, splinters and various other "ouchies" (I realize that there are many kids that knew pain much greater than the aforementioned, but do forgive me, for my views are biased, in that I'm writing from the point of view of a child with a relatively stable home life). At times, it turned into a contest of who had the bigger scab, a badge of bravery if you will. We didn't know about heartbreak, we didn't stress over tests, we didn't fuss over looking decent in public, and homework was a fun thing that usually meant a reward-usually in the fashion of a sticker.

As I thought about all this, I came to realize why I didn't like kids for the longest time-I was...envious. The endless possibilities, the seemingly infinite energy and undying sense of trust and faith in people. I wanted that back. I wanted to be able to go up to random strangers and just talk to them for hours as if I had known them forever (a funny story my parents like to tell me to remind me of my days as a social butterfly). I wanted to go back to the times when it was unheard of to stay up all night just to write a paper, or even having to study for anything.

But most of all, I wanted to go back to a time where I had no knowledge of the pain and woes of the world. As kids, we never heard the words terrorist, suicide bombers, gang violence or government corruption (though I vaguely remember hearing about the bomber near the Olympics in the 90s or something? again, my viewpoint is biased to life in the 90s.). We had no possible concept of recessions or depressions or ponzi scams-our greatest understanding of economics involved Monopoly. And we definitely had no idea there was such a thing as severe poverty or famine.

What I would like to know is, when we get older, why do we have to lose not so much our blissful (yet understandable) ignorance, but more so our ability live so harmoniously? Sure, every now and again there was a bully on campus, but for the most part, we were happy just to play with anyone; while we were aware that we didn't look like one other, we didn't let that stop us from playing with each other (unless your parents taught you to keep away from certain people, either because of race, creed, or general stereotypes).

Why do we get so wrapped up in such superficial things like social status or name brand clothing? Why must we create these irrelevant barriers? We shouldn't let these small things rule who we associate ourselves with or, most importantly, let it dictate our self-worth.

As kids, we were all so weird, but once we started getting older, society almost forced us to obtain a sense of "normalcy," guidelines of how you gotta act in order to fit in, or else you're branded an outcast and shunned from the public. I say, throw out the mainstream (for lack of a better word) ideals that make us forget who we really are deep down inside. We all have quirks and abnormal tendencies, but we shouldn't have to hide them in fear of being ridiculed. Let's go back to the days when we could dance how we wanted, make up a new language with friends, and laugh and smile at the simplest pleasures in life, be it from watching your favorite cartoon, getting those little 50 cent Valentine's cards from your teacher, or going to Chuck E. Cheese with your family and your best friend on your birthday.