Have you ever seen something when you’re out and about and the nostalgia hits you like a truck? This happens to me all the time, and if it’s something I loved as a kid I’ll get super excited in public. No shame. Do you know why I let myself get overly excited about something that hits the nostalgia button? Because the world we live in now is so dark, and depressing. In reality we’ve let it get this bad, we’re the ones that flipped the brighter future switch to the doom and despair setting. So I try to find happiness in the smaller things in life. Example; when I turned 18 years old I decided I wanted a moon bounce at my birthday party. Yes I was 18, yes I was having a birthday party, and yes I did have a moon bounce there. A Scooby-Doo moon bounce to be exact. Not only did I have one at my 18th, but I also decided to have one when I graduated from college. Yes, I had another Scooby-Doo moon bounce at my college graduation party. Everyone that came LOVED it. My decision to be a kid again, even though I wasn’t technically one anymore, made everyone happy. They got to go back in time and be their true selves, if only for a few hours.

This is just one reason I refuse to let my inner child die. Also why do we let them disappear from us? Where does it say that a kid’s meal is solely for someone 12 and under? Besides the obvious wording they have on the menu, why in our society are people put down for liking things they enjoyed when they were younger? To me this is ridiculous, that there is some magical number you hit and boom no more fun. It’s no wonder there are so many mental illnesses in our world. We are all work, all the time. Our lives are ruled by money, our jobs, chores, we are depressed by what we see in the news, by what our country is doing. All we see is loss and despair, so yeah many people are going to suffer from anxiety and depression. I know I do. I have no idea if I am clinically depressed, or if I have anxiety disorder because I refuse to go to the doctors to figure it out. I just know that maybe if everyone were a little happier in general, or at least let their inner child out to play every so often we would be better off as humans. I used to be embarrassed that I played video games in my free time, colored, read young author books, but I’ve adapted the “it makes you happy who cares if others are going to judge you?”. So THIS is why I refuse to let mine die. If I did, I know I would be worse off than where I currently am. So reader I want you to promise me something, I want YOU to go out and do something your inner child would LOVE. Go jump in that moon bounce, color that children’s coloring book, eat a kid’s meal and play with that epic toy it comes with, watch your favorite cartoon, or play that video game. Whatever makes you remember the good times, and makes you happy. Happiness is the true key in life. Don't ever let your inner child die.