AS FREE AS A SEAGULL BY GEORGIA SLAGEL

The sky is open. The sun is kissing my skin. I feel sand soft beneath my feet. Soft sounds of waves serenade me into a state of bliss. Then suddenly I feel the thud of little footsteps. I hear the excited high-pitched screams. Popping up from my peaceful state, I find children surrounding us, like a school of fish.

Frustration creeps in. I just want to relax after a long week at college. Why can’t these children find a new place to play? Sand flies and hits my legs. As I watch the children play, frustration turns into fascination. To my left, three little girls are running towards the ocean in dresses and splashing in the waves without a care in the world if they get their clothes dirty. Two boys are chasing the seagulls up the beach. A girl with pig tails is spinning around by herself. 

I can’t help but wonder, when do we start to care too much in life? We stay on the side of caution to save ourselves embarrassment or rejection. Our resilience as a child is so high but as we get older it chips away. We care about what others think. We care about looking a certain way. We worry if we are dancing alone people will think we’re strange. When did we start to care so much?