I, among many others, would love to be five years old again--more than words can say. It was a perfect time of very little judgement and a whole lot of expression. The only time I ever really felt pressured was when I was picking out which Tamagotchi I wanted. Though I still believe that to be an extremely stressful decision, it was a lot less stressful than the things I now deal with on a day-to-day basis.

When I was five, it felt like I wasn’t afraid of anything. I had fun with everything, except the occasional time out. I had an endless amount of energy and felt like I had all the time in the world. Unfortunately, I can never actually go back. However, I can reminisce about the many amazing things that I had then, and would love to have in my life now.

1. It’s adorable when you make mistakes, not frowned upon.
2. No worries about weight or counting calories.
3. No one cares about your looks.
4. You can wear whatever you want, makeup is never required, and your hair can be the biggest mess; no one bats an eye.
5. No social media to corrupt us.
6. No smart phones, tablets or laptops, so friends were made with ease.
7. No homework. I hate homework.
8. No jobs.
9. THE TOYS. Seriously, my generation had the best toys: Polly Pockets, Koosh Balls, Bop It, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers head flipping toys, etc.
10. Getting spoiled on holidays.
11. NAP TIME.
12. No fear of always being honest.
13. Happy Meals.
14. Getting over little fights insanely fast and not resenting each other for it.
15. Listening to how scared everyone was of their Furby, while I loved mine.
16. Watching cartoons almost constantly.
17. Being able to love unconditionally without the fear of being hurt.
18. No responsibilities.

The one main problem I had with being a child was that it seemed like all I did was look forward to growing up. Yes, I did this even when I was five. I wanted to play with my toy kitchen, like the grown-ups did, pretend to vacuum like the grown-ups did, pretend my doll was a baby (which I will never understand why that is/was a thing kids wanted to do), and other random adult tasks that I never want to do now. Seriously, me in or anywhere near a kitchen is dangerous now.

I wish I didn’t look forward to adulthood constantly, because now all I want to do is be little again. I thought that being an adult would be fun and give me more freedom to do whatever I wanted. I was wrong. But sadly, that’s human nature in general. You never know what you have until it’s gone, and we always want what we can’t have. But the good news is, amazing memories are capable of being made no matter what age. In all honesty, I do not think I will ever fully grow up. I will just have to remain a five-year-old at heart.