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Living Like A Child

It's good to embrace your inner youth.

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Living Like A Child
Rebekah Barquero

I wish I could live my life looking through the eyes of a child. Children have an innocence that is so genuine and pure-hearted. What if adults acquired more childlike qualities? How differently would the world be?

We're constantly bombarded with stories of unspeakable violence and hatred, and it’s becoming increasingly important for the innocent among us to rise up and spread the word of peace. It may be hard to believe, since the media is constantly telling you otherwise, but there are people in this world who act with no ulterior motive and honestly do want to see humanity progress.

I remember my eyes lighting up when I saw the last decorations go up on the Christmas tree. I would spend hours with quiet anticipation thinking of what to ask Santa to bring me. I truly believed it in my heart that this magic was real.

I didn't have to think logically, I had yet to acquire the capacity to do so. I thought with my heart, and everything was a little bit more colorful. There is a certain air of mystery in life when you think anything is possible.

As adults, we have routines and an endless list of things to do every day, consequently clouding our brains with unnecessary worries and stress. If we tried to experience things with no preconceived notions, we could have brand new adventures we would've never even imagined.

Children are not yet tainted by experience and they say things both honestly and sincerely as they were taught. They don't ever sugar coat what they say because they have no reason to and they have not adapted that practice yet into their young lives. They are spontaneous and very perceptive.

Rather than always spitting out answers, we should always be asking questions and trying to understand more about the world. By accepting that it’s impossible to know everything, we open the door to the possibility that we can know as much as we can in our lifetime.

I remember learning was a fun thing for me when I was young because there was so much I didn't know. I was proud when I learned rhymes of multiplication tables and songs of prepositions. I wasn't afraid to ask questions; I was more receptive to those who spoke because everything seemed knowledgeable.

Children have an enormous capacity to be uninhibited. As we age, we build barriers. We constrict ourselves to certain behaviors and care a lot more about what others think. But when we put these barriers up, we become more restricted. We don’t give ourselves the freedom to be who we are or do what we want.

The imagination of a child is unrestrained by rules. It’s unbound and free to go anywhere. This all changes by the time you become an adult.

When I was a little over a year old, I jumped off a coffee table thinking I could fly; spontaneity at its finest. Yes, I broke my elbow, but it healed. We tend to forget that as adults sometimes. We are too afraid to jump because we don’t want to get hurt, and we forget that even if we do get hurt; wounds heal.

We should try to embrace being childlike to take on the challenges that we encounter and try to find creative solutions. Of course, we cannot ignore life's responsibilities, but we can enjoy the little things that spark the minds of children, and push our imagination beyond the limits of logic.

As said by Picasso, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

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