Ever since I first heard High Dive Heart's song, " Playground," it's become one of my favorites. Whether I'm feeling nostalgic or in need of a pick-me-up, this song can usually fulfill all my emotions.

I like the song not only because it's upbeat, but it's entirely true. It recounts the act of growing up in a way that we don't think about on an everyday basis.

My childhood was probably the happiest time of my life. While I've lived in different cities around the world, depression would still find me no matter where I escaped to. Only when I was a kid, did I not really know what depression was.

As a child, I lived in my own world. A world that was simple. A world where I knew I was different than the other kids but I was still able to have fun and enjoy my time, whether it was with people or I was by myself.

I grew up in a trailer park in central Pennsylvania. For the first ten years of my life, that was all I really knew about the world. I would travel to Virginia or Ohio every so often to visit relatives but otherwise, I was living my life in this tiny trailer with my parents.

On unbearably hot summer days, I would go to the neighbors' down the street with other kids and get a Freeze Pop to cool off. We would hook up sprinklers in the grass and play in the water. During recess, time away from the classroom meant kickball or freeze tag or the traffic light game.

I didn't know how to ride a bike (I still don't), but I managed to get around on my scooter while my friends rode their bikes around the trailer park. I "took on the world" on my razor scooter or by doing flips on the trampoline.

Both experiences would eventually result in me getting injured at some point. Although, as a kid, you don't believe that "you can break." You think you're invincible.

Before we truly begin to learn about the world, we're still so innocent. We're more creative. We don't let anything get in our way. Nothing seems impossible.

As we get older, our priorities change. Everything begins to revolve around having the most "jewels." Having the newest toy or video game suddenly becomes irrelevant, especially when you have bills to pay.

At one point in the song, they say, "We can't get back our innocence, but for now let's reminisce." I've been doing a lot of this since I moved to Oregon. Until now, I've never been so stationary and had so much time to think about all my experiences.

I think back to when I was in high school or college or living in a foreign country. I had problems, sure. We all have problems. However, now that I have real adult responsibilities, I would give anything to go back to waking up at eight in the morning to sit in a classroom and learn.

I miss walking to class along the Vltava River in Prague as the sun rose over the fairytale architecture.

I crave the days where I was creating all the time with my friends from film school. Every time I go back to Penn State, I savor that atmosphere of young adults trying to figure themselves out together.

Unfortunately, life doesn't have a rewind button. As we grow older, life seems to move faster and faster and it becomes all about playing catch-up. If you're somehow able to catch up with all the craziness going on both in the world and your own bubble, you've made it in a sense.

I think the most important thing we can do as we get older is to not let that fire within us burn out. As children, we are all creative and we see the world differently because we don't know about all the trauma and chaos yet.

Life is all about having different experiences that contribute to your character. If we can have these experiences and struggles and still come out on top and in control, that says a lot about someone's character.

It's especially important nowadays, in a world that is run by numbers, to not let "jewels" get in the way of your happiness. In the way of your freedom. In the way of your dreams.

Like the song says, we can't go back to the playground. So, let's not leave "our hearts in the lost and found." If you can keep that spark within you as you grow older, you're already halfway there. Getting the inspiration can sometimes be the hardest step. What you do with that inspiration is what matters.