Letter of Rec for Something Underrated: Childhood

Childhood is something many of us take for granted. I mean, come on, do you remember those days running around with all those scabs on your knees, chasing the ice cream truck with your friends and family? And those boring hours that you spent just laying around, staring at the wall with your tongue dangling out of your mouth (you can’t even do that right NOW anymore, in fact, you can’t even imagine ever relaxing or wasting more than 2 minutes!).

I would like to implore you to consider Childhood just a little longer...just before you decide to take the typical society’s opinion to “grow up.” How can you just throw away all those fun years? Childhood has stuck with you and has quite literally became a part of you. You would not be who you are today without it, because it defines you. Why do people look down on others who appreciate their childhood and childlike ways? Maturity? Yeah that’s so funny, last time I checked, Maturity is Childhood's best friend. Yin and Yang. The Peanut Butter to the Jelly. Sure, there are some bad apples that still can’t handle looking at anything without sexualizing it or being inappropriate, but no one ever tells those people to grow up. People ignore those people (which is a whole other issue for another time). The ones being told to “grow up” are always the ones that are human beings with joy and a spark.

The ones who decided to “grow up” always think they are better than everyone in the entire world. “Adulthood” *scoff* yeah right. I hope they have fun being a unbreakable bland wall that thinks life is all about paying taxes and refusing to have a sense of humor. Adulthood is over here thinking they deserve children to give a Childhood to, when in fact, the truth is, not all parents deserve to have children! Childhood over here is the CEO of Adulthood, not the other way around. Childhood’s leadership and mentorship is the most fundamental thing for that “next step,” and choosing to abandon it will be your worst loss. How will you ever have empathy or understanding for others? How will you understand their perspectives? No, really, how?

Just think about how sad the younger you would feel after hearing that you threw out all your collectable cards and stuffed animals and Hello Kitty merch… at least donate some and keep some for memories. Throwing away what was once part of you is going to leave you empty. You are missing out on that fuzzy nice feeling of nostalgia when you find it again in the future at the bottom of a box. Childhood allows you to feel that. What else? Nothing else.

Please, do not throw Childhood away.

Sometimes Childhood can be a traumatic, tragic, and terrifying, but there’s always some parts of it that help you be who you are. It teaches you who to be, and who not to be. If everyone valued Childhood, then those who only chose Adulthood would do a better job at carrying out their tasks.

Do not throw Childhood away, because it is your invisible foundation. I think you should really consider what it means to you, and I think you will be surprised to see just how much it helps you and guides you. I believe that it will be a very useful and influential in the next steps of your journey through life.