Working with kids is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have as a young adult. We are at the age when our imaginations begin to run dry, replaced by a mountain of stress and expectations. We begin to focus on our goals and future, and rightly so, as well as impressing the people around us from employers to professors to peers. We forget about all the splashes of sunshine that used to fill our days and the incessant giggling that just would not stop — leading only to hiccups that had us, literally, upside down.

Working with kids has taught me that there is no reason to give up our inner child — the one that is bursting at the seams with innovation and has no fear of spewing new ideas to everyone that crosses its path.

I spent three years volunteering at a preschool, two summers working as a teaching assistant at a summer camp, and a year of constant tutoring and babysitting, and these are the top three lessons I learned on my fulfilling, never-a-dull-moment journey working with kids.

1. Always be confident

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This is hands-down the most valuable life lesson I learned from kids. I don't know how they do it, but they always find a way to stand tall and proud in their ideas and choices. I have seen kids stand unwaveringly in their choice of game to play or book to read as their peers moan and groan about the decision (only to happily join in a few minutes later). They don't seem to care what anyone else thinks because it is their decision, and they are confident about it! That is a lesson that all young adults and adults need to remember — do not let your grand idea go to waste or your choice be one of peer pressure. Always Be Confident in what you do. Kids are — and they sure are happy!

2. Imagination is key

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There's a reason kids love Disney so much — Walt Disney was one of the most innovative, imaginative people of his time, and he filled his creations with it! Imagination is something that, as we get older, we seem to lose. Whether it completely goes away or just simply grows weaker, there's no comparing it to the vivacious ingenuity possessed by the young generation of our world. From new games to hilarious sayings, kids come up with it all because their imagination is always going full throttle! Kids have taught me that Imagination is Key to success, happiness, and fun! If we just let our imaginations run wild, paired with the knowledge we have gained as we've aged, the ideas we could come up with could be life-changing!

3. Laugh, a lot

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Life is stressful when you get older. Bills to pay. Tests to ace. Careers to make. The real-world hits hard. Sometimes it's just easier to put on the "leave me alone" face and trudge through the day. But if kids have taught me anything, it is that laughing is the best medicine. I have had kids genuinely laugh at my cheesiest jokes. I have had kids tell me the most non-sensical things while laughing their brains out, and I cannot help but crack up, too! Laughter is easy to come by, and it doesn't just make you feel better to smile and release all that happy energy, but it just may brighten up another person's day, too! Laugh, A Lot, in the real world! It will make all those troubles just a little bit easier to handle.

Kids are smart, there is no doubt about that. And they can teach you a lot of things that you probably have forgotten as you've gotten older! So next time you talk to a kid, really listen! They may not pay bills yet, but they sure could help you laugh all those worries away!