Child's play

I miss being a kid. The simple things were the ones that mattered: family, friends, and of course Barbies. No one cared about summer internships or Wall Street jobs. A friend eating the last Popsicle in the freezer seemed like the worst thing that could possibly happen. As college students, more of us are starting to reclaim that childish spirit. I am sure that I am not the only person on this campus who has gone to Target solely to play with toys and buy Play-doh.

Oh, I am? Carry on then.

Children’s movies are no longer off limits and we seek them with a devilish fervor. Eight-hour Disney movie marathons are just as acceptable as trips to Shooters. I am not ashamed to say that I cried during Toy Story 3.

But, what inspired this nostalgia for the past?

It seems as though 18-year olds step on college campuses and, all of a sudden, get the urge to sing songs from “Mulan.” Perhaps, it’s because our college schedules are so much different than our high school schedules. In high school, our lives read like the schedule of Allie, the goody-two-shoes from “The Notebook”: math lesson, French lesson, lunch, dance lesson, tennis lesson (sometimes both), dinner, homework, bedtime. This model is so inflexible that we run around like chickens with their heads cut off when we come to college. “Should I join the debate team or the club lacrosse team? It’s a hard decision, so I will just do both.” It takes us T-minus 60 seconds to get burned out and then we run to the nearest exit.

In comes our childhood.

It is innocent and pure and reminds us of the time before we tarnished ourselves. We could do no wrong and no wrong could be done to us. No matter how cool we think we are now or how much we want to distance ourselves from those who are different, we want to reclaim that innocence. I am not advocating for a regression to childhood; it is beneficial for us to grow as people. However, the only way that we can grow is to reflect on the times when we were the happiest and try and recreate that in our lives.

So, if that makes you want to buy a pretty princess camera, I say do it. The best (and worst) thing about college is that the only person that you have to answer to is yourself, and that makes self-discovery that much more fulfilling. Now, I am going to go make a Krabby Patty with Play-doh. Knock on my door if you would like to join.