As I get older, I find myself looking back more and more with nostalgia. If you’ve read my blogs you’ll know that I was born in Sierra Leone but moved to England (where my sisters were born) at an early age and now I live in the U.S. of A. One thing about reflection, it helps you learn, it helps you grow and if you are aware it helps you to make changes. When I was young, I couldn’t wait to be an adult. But I’m sure like me, you realize that enjoying your childhood is one of God's greatest gifts.

With adulthood comes an expectation, a responsibility to not only look after yourself but if you embark on the journey of parenthood, the little ones that have been entrusted to you. That has me thinking: I wish I could be 5 again as these are the things I miss the most about my childhood.

1. Unrivaled expectation

When you are young, every cloud has a silver lining, every sky a rainbow. You have an unrivaled expectation that the world is beautiful and so is everything in it. You look at things through rose-colored glasses, unencumbered by life experiences. As we get older, the trials and tribulations of life lessons, while they do make you stronger, can sometimes bite, and you know how the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. This can dampen this outlook over time.

2. Carefree living

When you are young, you have very few cares. Playtime is the best time. You scream not because of the horrors of the world but the share excitement and joy that the world brings. Your mind is not cluttered with, who, what, when and where. As a parent, my mind is often clouded with the thoughts and responsibilities that I have. What bills do I have to pay today? Who do I have to drop off at an extracurricular activity today? When is the deadline for something or another? I won’t say that in my life, I have no carefree days but they are few and far between. As opposed to when I was a child, when my days of worry were few to nonexistent.

3. Connection

When you are young, it’s easy to form and maintain connections. They are effortless. Starting with family. You look forward to the weekends, and holidays, when you can surround yourself with your cousins, siblings, aunts, uncles and much more. Relationships are simple. You love, you miss and you yearn for the times that you’ll spend together once again. You have a connection with your friends you see every day at school. Or you meet someone who you spark a mutual interest with while at your weekly activity. Or you spot someone across the lawn at your local, city or state park.

Instantly you have a connection. They are your buddy and you are theirs. It’s that simple. But somewhere along the way, making friends and meaningful connections becomes more difficult. As kids, the people that surround you, grow up with you. You form your values and life perspective together. There may be some friendships that fall by the waste side but those that make it through usually form lifelong friends. As an adult, you meet people all the time. One thing I have learned though is that if your values systems don’t align, it’s pretty difficult to form, maintain and have deep meaningful and lasting connection with a new friend.

Realizing these things, I have made a vow to live each day as if I was a child. I vow to have an unrivaled expectation, for my family, my kids, my husband, my business and myself. I will believe that “all things are possible!” Being a mom, wife, employee, friend, sibling, I have a lot going on from day to day. This responsibility can at times weigh heavy but understand the joy and blessing that it brings, has made me pledge to live as many carefree days as possible moving forward.

Lastly, I declare that I will strive every day to make and have meaningful connections. While it may mean kissing many frogs before finding my metaphorical “friend princesses”, we truly are communal beings. Thus forming and maintaining deep connections will only enrich my life. I urge you to make this pledge with me and let me know the outcome below.