Unleashing the Child Side

Someone posted, on Facebook, how ridiculous someone (a young adult) with "light up" sneakers looked. It got me thinking that we really have a lack of patience for anything childish that gets exhibited by anyone "other than" a child. I don't mean to step to the defense of immaturity, but there is a distinction between being child-like and immature. I, along with a seemingly small percentage of people, find immaturity unattractive, romantically and platonically. I feel as if a lot of people, an even greater percentage, find a person embracing their child-like side to themselves to be even more unattractive. I find this saddening, because it is incredibly telling of American culture to set an age limit or goal on many things (Adult = 18, Alcohol = 21, Get a Job = 16, Rent a Car = 25, etc). I genuinely believe that everyone should embrace their child self for the rest of their lives. I mean, think about it, when you were a kid, you were care free, happy, spoiled, creative, unrestricted, and finally, more importantly, physically and emotionally free. Now, I understand that an adult has to take care of business throughout life, but failing to realize the beauty of one's own oddity and care free attitude is, in my mind, unhealthy.

I do not subscribe to the notion that once a person reaches a certain age, they must fall in line and fill the shoes of a respectable, responsible adult. I firmly believe that a person should be able to allow the kid inside them to blossom from time to time to release steam, express themselves freely, and become, overall, more approachable as a person. You'd be surprised how often you end up laughing, spending less time rigidly standing, releasing the built up pressures inflicted upon yourself when you simply decide to be a little silly, indulge in some innocent fun. As a matter of fact, watch most people talk to their pets - the immediate jail break to a person's child side; people become completely different when their pet is being given their attention - they become playful, start emulating different voices, and their imagination makes them believe their pet can understand them. That last point is really interesting to me, because although their rational side would tell them otherwise, they simply ignore it and enjoy the moment for what it is, devoid of attention on the world around them (which they would, otherwise, see as judgmental).

I'm telling you, if you have some fun little quirks about you, you should absolutely not be ashamed of it, nor hide it, but express it as a demonstration of your difference and love for yourself in a light unlike your serious, reserved one. Don't get me wrong, I believe there are far too few people who allow themselves to sit down and actually think for themselves, but I also feel that many people fail to realize that it is okay, and not only that, but healthy to embrace your 8 year old self from time to time; I feel as if most people are in an uncomfortable limbo between acceptance and nonacceptance, and feed into the cyclical pattern of judgement on others (who return the favor), because we're all too damn scared to be ourselves to the fullest extent. Trust me, even I'm still battling it.

Listening to: Foster the People, "Don't Stop (Color the Walls)"