Many young adults my age would most likely remember the colorful & fun world of Sesame Street. As I watched the series as a young child, I quickly became attached to the characters and the entire show in general. Although it seems cliche, television shows with a young child demographic really have an impact on their development and growth. I know as I watched Sesame Street, I paid close attention to all the responses, reactions, and daily things that the show brought to my television set. Watching the different characters tackle situations, make decisions, and perform everyday activities helped me to grow into the person I am today.

Because Sesame Street was such a big part of my childhood, I used to pay many visits to the popular theme park designed after the renowned television series. The theme park is located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, which is only about an hour drive from my home in New Jersey. I can vividly remember all the pictures of the park in our old photo albums, riding my first roller coaster there, and watching all of the live shows that are a large part of the content in my old home videos. Sesame Place was a place for adventure, imagination, and creativity and I truly believe that the series influences my creative nature as an adult.

I was recently feeling pretty nostalgic and decided to pay a visit to Sesame Place as a twenty-year-old woman. I asked two of my best friends to accompany me and they so graciously agreed with my insane plan. As we arrived at the park, we received the numerous looks I was prepared to attract. We got the look that says, without verbally speaking at all, "Why are you at a children's amusement park without a small child?" I decided to brush all those looks off my shoulder and move on with my fun-filled day resurfacing my childhood. We walked into the amusement park and the large green & yellow sign caught my eye and instantly flashed me back to the hundreds of pictures in old photo albums that I had in front of that very sign. I felt like I was seven years old again.

As we explored the park, we rode off the rides, enjoyed the water attractions and took in some of the parades and live shows. I had an absolute blast doing every with my friends. Although we aren't physically five, six or seven years old, we were able to have fun acting like we were again. Being a junior in college and holding stress, problems, and schoolwork on your shoulders can be enough to crack even the best of us, but relieving some of that stress by reliving your childhood even just for a few hours, is really the best medicine that you can get. While I was having fun with my friends, I smiled so much my jaw hurt, which is something that I don't remember being a problem I have had for quite a long time. Being young and irresponsible, having to care for nothing but your Christmas list and daily chores is something that all adults must pretend they are every once in a while.

This may not include taking a road trip to Sesame Place for you in particular, but it may include going outside and playing tag, jumping rope or watching an old television show that you watched when you were a child. Many people pair nostalgia to something cheesy or even embarrassing, I have to strongly disagree. Nostalgia brings a person back to their roots and reminds them how far they have come from their childhood. For me, I realized how proud I am of myself when I looked at the big Sesame Place sign in the front of the theme park. I remembered the old pictures of an optimistic little blonde girl wearing an oversized Big Bird t-shirt and little pink shorts and realized how proud she'd be of me. I remembered how much that girl wanted to drive, be independent, live on her own, go away for college, and most importantly, have a dog ( I may have overdone that one ). I realized how happy and blessed I am for the opportunities I have been granted and I strongly believe that we can only appreciate the smaller things in life when we take a step back, such as going to Sesame Place and remember our childhood roots.

I had an absolute blast at the theme park and I'd encourage anyone in the tri-state area to visit Sesame Place if you were (or still are) a huge fan of the series. The last thing I took from this experience is that theme park demographics are merely a suggestion and I encourage you to defy those suggestions and don't let something as silly as your age stop you from having fun as if you were a child again. Everyone needs a break and I hope this article encouraged you to take one and to find your Sesame Place!

PS: IF YOU REALLY HAVE NEVER BEEN TO SESAME PLACE PLEASE GO! YOU WILL SERIOUSLY NOT REGRET IT. IT IS LITERALLY A BLAST!