One of the things that I miss about being a child is how I looked at every new thing with awe, not stereotypes or judgmental temperaments in the back of my head. I think many people forget about that.

In our modern day and age, it's (sadly) normal to see somebody who is different than you and judge them on their appearance, their skin color or even the way they walk. We all used to have simpler days where nothing mattered when we made a friend (well, as long as they liked the same things as us).

For the past few years, I've noticed I've gotten labeled "immature" by acting childish. When you're growing up, you're supposed to become more serious and goal-driven, especially when you're going away to college. But one thing adults lack is the lens of a child, which I try to look through in certain situations.

But now the length of time children have that rare, open perspective of the world is dwindling. Children at even younger ages are getting exposed to media and stereotypes. Maybe we can blame technology for this, or even parents.

I hear stories from fellow students of how they were told about race when they were young and how the stereotypes learned then always stuck with them, not being erasable. This is why it's so hard to accept other people, especially when they fall under one of these negative stereotypes we hold.

Looking at people differently isn't the only thing our "adult" lens is affecting. When somebody holds opinion, we are prone to fight back or deny their opinion completely. It's taken a lot of brain training for me to stop that, and instead of denying, I ask people why they think the way they do. It's amazing some of the stories you can hear from people when you ask them why they hold an opinion. As humans, it's important to accept one another for who we are, not every little thing we believe in.

I love children. I love being with children, talking to children, and just overall hanging around children. Their lives are so much more simple. When I was younger, I remember wanting to be in high school so badly. I thought I was going to be a "cool kid" who went to parties and had lots of friends. Oh man, was I wrong. I'm not saying high school was a total wreck, but there were many instances where being eight again appealed to me.

Some adults look down on children, but I think it should be the other way around. Children have amazing, beautiful, creative minds. Just because they're "immature" and make poop jokes doesn't mean they can't be as smart and creative, if not more, than adults. It's that rare view of the world that allows children to speak their minds, not worrying about judgement. If I did that I would expect judgement from all directions.

I believe that adults today can learn from children. I know not every person likes kids, I totally understand they can scream and be annoying, but repressing the child inside of you is like that child inside of you screaming to come out. Let your creativity show, and maybe even be carefree for once. We never lost our childhood, it's just been stacked upon in our minds with more "important" things. Children are the happiest things on Earth (most of the time). Let's all try to connect to our childhood selves and maybe a good thing or two might come out of it.