“We get taller. We get older. But do we really grow up?”
- Meredith Grey
In 11 months time, I will be 18, I will finally be considered an adult. But even though I’ll be 18 does that really mean I’m an adult? And with that question comes this one, do we really grow up?
Every adult I know has this child like manner to them. Day to day they sit wide eyed, like a child who walks into a giant toy store. They still get giddy when they learn something exciting, they jump up and down when they hear the words ” Sweet”, and they still need to take naps when they get cranky. Some boys do still have cooties, and theres always a girl getting picked on by the boy that likes her. Then theres the more darker world of childhood that grows into the teen years. The insecurities, the broken hearts, and how we go day to day trying to just fit in on the “playground”.
I see daily how the scars and insecurities from when someone got when they were 5 or 10 still effects them today. When we are kids we used to build forts to hide from the daily pain we ran from, as we grow older we build an imaginary fort around ourselves to hide in when things get tough. We wear masks to hide our true feelings and when things get really tough we go run and cry to the person we consider an adult to kiss are booboos and make them feel better.
In the end we still throw a fit when things don’t go the way we planned, be try to break the rules that are set for us on a daily basis, and when things get tough we look for comfort in the simple things.
Yes, it is possible to grow up, but maybe if we did life would be dull and lifeless. When people do grow up they lose the sense of how to have fun and how to have an adventure. Yes, we should learn how to be responsible and deal with the consequences of our foolish actions, but that doesn’t mean we should live life in a dull manner.
The truth is when I was a kid I always wanted to grow up, but now with 11 months to go until “adulthood” I wish I would have enjoyed being a kid. Maybe its good that we never grow up...
