Why is it that at night, when you’re just about to fall asleep- when you’re supposed to be free of thinking, that is the time that you think the most? There was one night in particular where I couldn’t seem to get something off my mind: children.

Every job that I’ve ever had has left me in charge of children. Three years in a camp and three years in a daycare may sound like an excessive time to be focusing on kids, right? Perhaps. Nonetheless, thinking back on it, these children have taught me way more than I probably ever taught them.

We, as adults, need to pay more attention to the way kids live their lives and learn from them. In some ways, children are smarter than we are. Although it often appears they have life easier, the explanation is simple—the world to children is written in black and white.

When a child is making a decision their choices are either 'this or that.' In other words, simplicity. Sophomore year of high school, I took a child growth and development class. We were taught that you cannot give children open-ended options. Instead of asking what they want to wear that day, you should ask them, “Would you like to wear your blue shirt or your red shirt?” This or that. However, as adults, choosing what to wear each day is an extensive, often stressful process. A process that ends in disheveled drawers and bedroom floors covered in rejected outfits.

Growing up ultimately leads to overthinking everything. “Who is going to notice my new shoes? Should I go talk to that boy over there or am I going to embarrass myself? Is my article good enough or should I send it to three more people and get their opinions?” There are not necessarily answers to each of these questions, yet we continue torturing ourselves going through all the options of what can and cannot go wrong in each situation. In a way, adults are often self-destructive.

In Pre-School, if I had a crush on a boy, then I'd tell him. I would walk right up to him and say, “I like you.” We would probably decide to get married right then and there and live happily ever after. Although it is not recommended that we still do something that bold at our age, it was so simple and easy because there was no overthinking. Nowadays, we think so much into every decision we make. I often find myself dressing to impress others. I think about what people are going to say about my writing regardless of if I like it or not. I am constantly on Instagram and Pinterest scrolling past people I wish I could be. No longer do we see someone in our class and say “Oh hey a new friend for me!” Now, they’re competition. “Who dresses better? Who gets better grades?”

Why? Why did everything turn from a simple choice of 'this or that' to total complication? Yes, it can easily be argued that kids don’t have nearly as much to worry about as adults do, but half of that reason is that they don’t make themselves worry by overanalyzing every little detail. Children choose to view life in a simpler, “black and white” approach. Personally, I think people should try and make their lives less complicated- more “this or that”. Easier said than done- yes, but by taking things one step at a time, things will lighten up and start to become much more effortless.