LIFE | NONFICTION | GROWING UP | ESSAY | READ OR DIE
I Don’t Wanna Grow Up!
Is refusing to “grow up” a choice we are able to make?
This fabulous prompt Deep Thought December Prompts (Day 11) is from Ruby Noir at Read or Die.
1] Growing older is inevitable, but is growing up a choice?
I’m not sure if we ever truly grow up at all. I know that I haven’t. Sometimes I still feel like I’m a teenager. I still feel young. My outside appearance definitely doesn’t reflect how I feel inside. But I still look at the world with a sense of childhood wonderment.
There are key differences of course. Now I have utility bills, a car payment and a budget. In my teenage years and twenties, I just kind of skated along impulsively without a care in the world.
I had roommates to share the financial burden with. I spent my paychecks down to the last penny on tattoos and concerts. And I had my family to fall back on when I needed financial help.
In many ways I’m glad I’ve grown up. Being young isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I used to move once a year. I went through jobs like crazy. I swear, I’ve done a little bit of everything.
Now I feel like there is so much to learn, and so little time. I want to answer all of those questions I had when I was a kid. I want to meet more people and listen to their stories. And I want to read everything.
2] Can you refuse to grow up? In what ways?
I suppose I could have resisted certain things. I could still drive my old Junker from 2007. I could act without thinking of the inevitable consequences. I could still have roommates.
And I guess this question also taps into what the difference is between growing up and growing older. I think it’s a mindset. A sense of responsibility for yourself and others grows with age. It’s ok to still do frivolous things on occasion and do something impulsive every now and then.
But nothing beats the feeling of stability that age brings.
3] Do you let your inner child come out and play?
This is a great question. Not enough is my answer.
I sometimes feel stuck in the day to day, and I forget about the giant world outside. All of the opportunities to do new things and experience true joy in this world have been taken off the table in my world as of late.
But as I’ve said before, I’m working on it. Every day is a new opportunity to improve myself and get one step closer to walking out that door.
Thank you for reading my answers. I’d love to hear your responses.
You can check out some more of my writing and follow me here. (She, Her) I am a writer, an artist and a freelance editor. I write a little bit of everything, whatever is on my mind at the moment. Get an email when I publish a new story. And you could buy me an iced latte if the mood strikes.
