those terrible twenties.

Do you ever have one of those days where you wish you could just throw yourself on the ground and refuse to talk to anyone until you get a juice box? When you feel like all possible means of communicating and managing frustration have been exhausted, and the only possible thing left to do is to revert into the 3 year old version of yourself?

We all have our limits, and dealing with particularly hard and stressful situations seem to really invite irrational, erratic, and yes, childish behavior. All the coping mechanisms we’ve learned and rehearsed over the years just won’t cut it sometimes, and we are left with what we had in the beginning: toddlers in tiaras.

We were all born with the innate capability and natural instinct to cry and scream when things go wrong, and not let up until it’s taken care of. Until we are taken care of.
As humans, our first moment in the world most likely involved screaming our heads off, and shaking our blood covered fists in the air. Babies communicate clearly from the very beginning when they are sad or upset, and from then on, crying is the default emotion for any situation. And as we grow older, we not only learn how to walk and talk, and read and write, we are taught how to express our needs and wants in an acceptable manor. We are taught to no longer look for mommy or daddy to pick us up when we fall down, but to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps… or velcro shoes.

The transitions we make from infanthood to childhood, and then on to adolescence and adulthood are full of unbelievable growth and change. It’s strange to reflect on the vast amount of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive maturation that occurs over relatively short spans of time. As we grow, we are molded into humans capable of maneuvering through the world as independent beings.

As we grew up, so did our understanding of how to express ourselves, as well as our assessment of how to manage and cope more and more independently. Thanks to biology and societal regulations, our brains grow and our knowledge expands on how to regulate feelings. Once we get past the tears of childhood and the carelessness of adolescence, we are expected to emerge on the other end mature, composed, and level headed. Emotions and thoughts are forced through several filters before a reaction happens. Our brains are now expected to restrain our mouths from screaming, or our feet from stomping and our fists from forming.

Then one day you wake up and bam! The stark reality of adulthood - there is no one to rub you on your back or give you a snack when you feel grumpy at work. And even though we have been through many years of training, there is still the tempting option to revert inside of all of us that sometimes wants to show itself in the form of a serious pout-fest. And even though we can’t scream until we get our way, or throw our cups across the room when they’re empty, we can act childlike in other ways.

I can think of no better way to relieve stress, frustration and pressure than channeling the wild, pint-sized version of myself. Whether this means taking some time to do an art project, play a board game, or fly a kite, nourishing the initial positive and creative parts of myself are imperative to maintaining sanity. I don’t know about you, but I doubt I’ll ever fully see myself as grown up, entirely detached from childhood. Having moments of child-like recklessness, immaturity, curiosity, and humor are vital aspects of myself and have always played a big role in my enjoyment of life. Being in ‘the real world’ for several years now has done nothing more than solidify my beliefs in the importance of these youthful thoughts and actions.

But seriously, get out of here and don’t talk to me until you come back here with a toy story band-aid.
…It doesn’t matter if I’m not bleeding!