We all feel it. Our youth slipping slowly from our fingertips as adult responsibilities push them away. We have all felt that ache in our heart for something; we just can't quite peg what it is we are longing for.
It is our childhoods: we long for the days when we ran in backyards chasing butterflies, the crummy sand piles that were to us grand castles, and for the freedom we once felt.
But this isn't all gone, I promise. Here are five ways you can go back to those days without losing the elusive "adult" title:
Breathe.
Give yourself some free time. If you're constantly bogged down by work and schoolwork, you're not only going to be stressed but your inner child is going to cry, because it hates homework.
Just. Go.
While you have to plan very carefully to free your time up, don't plan anything to do with that time. Let your heart take you on an adventure like it did when you were young. We never planned to go clamoring through the woods or to go out on our bikes, we just did. It's liberating to feel the adventure of the unknown again.
Re-watch Your Favorite Old Movies.
I recently went to see the new Jungle Book movie. This was a movie my father and I watched over and over again when I was a child. He would sing "Bear Necessities" to me every time after it. Needless to say, I cried four times in the movie and went home that weekend because I missed him.
But it reminded me of why I loved those old movies. They implored my mind to churn and enjoy these talking animals that were colored a bit funny. Watching movies that used to hold the title of "favorite" when you were a kid brings back a rush of nostalgia that you will be glad came.
Stop Caring.
Just for a while, release yourself from the binds that society has shackled on us. We must be quiet, calm, poised, thoughtful, the list goes on. Let go of this for a while. Be yourself without regard to how others will react. Kids never care what other people think about them. It's a great quality we grow out of.
Explore.
Your imagination is your own key to that fleeting childhood. We all used to play pretend, and the things were as real as if they were right in front of us. It may seem silly to be a college student and play cops and robbers around campus, but we still play hide and seek or tag. Why is pretend any different?
The list could go on and on. The fact is we are going to grow up. Some of us will get married, some of us will have children, and we will all have adult jobs, but for right now, we can still allow ourselves to entertain that inner child. We can give ourselves permission to live life to the fullest it has to offer.
