Why I want to be a kid again.

Last year, I found myself wanting to be free again. Free to imagine, like an explorer on a mission to find where the world of possibility disappeared. I kept hearing this cosmic question being asked of me. '“What do you want?!” And I would throw up my hands, raise my arms to the sky and shout, “I DON’T KNOW!” As a kid, I never had trouble knowing what I wanted. I wanted the whole world with a side of adventure! I wanted to polar plunge at 6 am at summer camp. I wanted to travel to every country in the world. I wanted to live in imaginary worlds. So, I began my quest to go back and find where I lost me. Me as a kid. I found my guide in The Artist’s Way. Anyone who has talked to me in the last six months has gotten an earful on my conversion. In fact, it has me proselytizing to anyone that will listen. Here’s what I found on my way to finding my 12 year old self.

  1. Being grownup is such a surprising disappointment. Growing up, I had visions of what it would be like to do what I wanted. Only to find out, it’s not quite that simple.

  2. When it comes to collecting information, inspiration, people, and art, I’m not a scavenger, I’m a dumpster. I like everything. I’m curious about everything. There’s no agenda and that’s how it should be. I’m a dumpster who sifts through treasure..

  3. Comparison is like being a voyeur in my own life. I stopped watching and started participating in my own the outcome I want for my life .What a revelation.

  4. I want to be serious…ly good at play. It is hard to play as an adult. It takes real work. Like Pablo Picasso said, ““It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

I guess I found that it’s ok to just start. I did start. With a river polar plunge on New Year’s Day. With a few friends who are up for fun. I have done it every weekend since. Sometimes I think about the discomfort. But, I now get why if an adult cold plunges, they can’t not talk about it. I LOVE it. The benefits far outweigh the temporary cold. I’m warm two seconds after I get out. If you don’t believe me, try it. I dare you. I double dare you.

“The break in our childish innocence comes the first time we use an eraser.” - Annette Goodheart

XOXO,

Amelia

If you want to feel like a wimp, watch this documentary on ice diving.

Amelia Schmid