YOU'RE A CHILD. WHY, THANK YOU. BY MARICLAIRE WARNOCK

When I was younger, being called a child was the greatest insult I could get. Now, I take that as a compliment, and here’s why:

1. Children are having a helluva lot more fun than adults.

Think about it. How many times have you seen a kid having the time of their lives doing something as mundane as bouncing a ball? I wish something so little would get me that excited...oh wait, it does. When I see things like a deer, a puddle to jump in, or leaves on the ground, I get visibly giddy. People passing by might think I’ve never experienced these things before. If being called a child means I still get excited by the little things, I think I am okay with that.

2. Children have an extraordinary imagination.

One of my favorite studies is Sir Ken Robinson’s study on the effects of education on creativity. Those who haven’t had any sort of education are inevitably creative geniuses. This is because they don’t know of the limitations that reality sets on the creative process. If being a child means I am able to break past those inevitable limitations, I’ll take it.

3. Children don’t give a damn about what others think.

I remember when I was younger, I used to dance in restaurants all the time. If I did that now, people would think there was something wrong with me. What’s the age where it changes from being cute to being concerning? There shouldn’t be one. Period.

After being an actual child, wanting to be an adult, and now being an adult, all I want is to be a child again. People say that all the time but never do the things they did as a child. Of course, I don’t mean throwing fits in grocery stores or having imaginary friends. What I mean is that having childish tendencies is not a bad thing, and society needs to believe that.