As children, we dreamed of the many pleasures and freedoms of adulthood. To us, it seemed like the epitome of existence and the prize for going through the submission of childhood. Ask nearly any child why they want to grow up so bad, and they’ll most likely say: “So I can do anything I want.” Grown-ups seemed so cool, with their many forbidden pleasures and juicy secrets. Thanks but no thanks to the “you’ll find out when you grow up” crew because why didn’t you warn us?
Honestly, growing up has not given us the freedom we thought we’d have. If anything, we have become more entangled in the fallacy of living. Sure, you finally get to wear those off-limit clothes and stay up late at night and drink alcohol and party. But what no one tells you is that you’ll probably start wishing you could get eight good hours of sleep every night. Or that alcohol isn’t that great and that adulting isn’t so glamorous.
Let’s start with playing. Yes, playing. It sounds silly and that’s the problem. As adults we don’t get to play anymore. To just run around and make noise and turn everything into something to laugh about. Now, you probably have to Google “games to play at parties” before organizing games nights or things like that. Not every time truth or dare, what about hide and seek? Also, #Bringbackbouncingcastles.
Then, of course, the joy of adulthood: bills, bills, bills. Responsibilities at every turn. Don’t you wish all you had to do was wake up, go to school, do homework, play. Meanwhile, someone else is in charge of running your life. No offense to parents, but they’re like Personal Assistants you don’t have to pay. All you have to do is look adorable, and not even with your own money! Not to talk of getting free money from adults for being “such a cutie.” I completely get why our parents always tricked us out of keeping such monies, because is it easy?
Next up, holidays. Once you join the workforce, it’s limited holidays. Ironically, your chances of getting a holiday also depend on how hard you work. Children though, they get holidays after every term, plus public holidays. If anyone told you then that you’d never have as much free time as an adult, you probably won’t have believed them.
One more thing we miss about childhood is how much easier it was to enjoy things. There was a lot more simplicity to life; children can make anything special. As adults though, we work hard to get things and then find it difficult to enjoy said things. It’ll be good to have that happy-go-lucky energy of a child once in a while.
That being said, we are terribly dismayed to have been scammed into thinking growing up is a dream. We do envy the relative ease of childhood, but we are glad that our innocence was preserved so that we actually enjoyed it. Happy children’s day!