I have lived for a little more than one-quarter of a century. To some, that’s the blink of an eye. To me, it is literally a lifetime.
In our society, I am technically an adult. As such, I can do certain adulty things like order wine in a restaurant or accrue massive credit card debt. (I’m experienced in both.)
While those and other things – namely realizing how close my 10-year reunion is – make me feel old, I still, at any given moment, completely surrender myself to the whims, amusement and utter excitement of my inner child. This, I think, is one of my most endearing qualities, and one that is absolutely essential to a happy life.
It’s like getting on an airplane for a business trip. Once you sit down, you can pull out reading material, work or feverishly send emails hoping the flight attendant doesn’t see.
Or, you can put your head up. Feel your body tighten with excitement (and the change in cabin pressure) when the plane begins to move, rolling down the tarmac at 200 mph. You can look out the window as you lift off, defying human limitations with every foot you rise. You can see what not even birds see, jetting toward the sky, your vision obscured by white fog until you burst through it, revealing a ground of cotton candy clouds and a sky with every shade of orange, pink, purple and blue this side of Heaven, blending together to illustrate just how beautiful our world is.
Or, you can keep your head down and miss life.
Lauren Cathleen 