I remembered when I was in high school, I had this conversation with a friend by the balcony. I asked, “Do you wish you can be a child forever?” He replied, “What? No. Why would I want that? I want to be a teenager forever.” I then said, “Well, I want to be one forever.”

I guess I was fortunate enough to have a memorable childhood. For that, I’m extremely thankful every single day. I may not have had a particular outstanding teenage period but that didn’t matter to me now because when I look back at it, if I could choose again, I will choose childhood over teenage period in terms of which one I want it to be fondest. I still remember I said this prayer to God when I was 9, I asked him to stop time and that I can be a child forever. Looking back at it, it was probably a silly thing to do but I probably realised at a young age, that with adulthood comes huge responsibilities. I believed heaven existed back then and I still do but I wanted heaven to be where we were at. So when I was 9, I wanted everything to last forever. From my grandparents to my relatives to my friends to my family, I wanted to keep that memory in a bottle and able to live in it everyday.

Of course, nothing last forever and why would they. If there was a concept as permanence on earth, then life would be pretty dull and overpopulated might I add. Anyway, back on topic and to my childhood, you can ask me, “What was so exciting about your childhood?” and I would tell you that I don’t really remember. If I do, it’s probably the times I played chase with my friends at the park. If I do, it’s probably the times where I thought everyone was kind and sincere. If I do, it was because I watched cartoons and be excited about eating lunch with my grandparents. I can’t remember much but for the ones I do, it was simple and happy.

You might have been surprised at why I chose childhood over teenage hood. This was because it thought me things I never thought was important. Looking at things with a childlike mindset nowadays seems like a mammoth task because we have all grown older and are more exposed to events all around the world with the boom of social media and electronic news. I find that ironic because it almost seems like we were children yesterday. It almost seems like we look at things with a heart of a child not too long ago. We have forgotten how to do because we chose to. Have you ever got that feeling of warmth when you hold a child in your hands or when you look into their eyes? Why do we have that? Maybe it reminds us of life. The beauty of life does not lie in complication and long winding roads but rather it lies in simplicity. It lies in remembering the purity of a child.

Time will never reverse back to the time when you were a child but what you do everyday can be different. Maybe when you and I walk by a homeless person, we can just talk to him or her. Maybe when news regarding abortions and violence break out, we can think of how to help them. Maybe when we are struggling in our life, we can go out and take a seat on one of the swings at the parks, remembering our blessings and be thankful for it.

I look back at what I have written and realized you know what, I don’t need to ask to be a child forever because deep down inside of us lies one. it’s about remembering the innocence of a child and carry it with you everyday. Don’t leave it buried inside of you. Let it resurface each time you talk to another person. Then, that person will also have the same feeling or warmth and love.