Innocent
paradise lost, welcome to real world
Kellie
Richardson
Ever
wish you could go back to a simpler time without
the worries of term papers, bills and hangovers?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have recess in
the middle of the day, a brief time of escape
filled with freeze tag, tether ball and four
square? Remember the amazement you felt when
Uncle Johnny pulled that quarter out from behind
your ear?
It seems the older we get, the more complicated our lives become, seemingly causing
our sense of wonder of the world around us to disappear. We know better than
to believe Houdini can really pull a rabbit out of his hat or make his lovely
assistant disappear.
Once we learn mechanics and physics, it’s no longer a big deal that massive
ships can float and huge airplanes can fly. Some of the magic vanishes.
The problem is once you know, pending some bout of amnesia, you’re always
going to know. Once you understand the dirty joke, you’re never going to
not get it. As we become more mature, we lose the innocence that made knock-knock
jokes and hide-and-go-seek so amusing.
Before parties and dating, there was kick ball and Pogs, the simple pastimes
that became a big deal on the playground. Sometimes I wish I still believed in
Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, two generous souls working hard to compensate
us for our resistance to the naughty side and our lost baby teeth.
Indeed, the more I learn, the less I truly appreciate the small joys of life.
This is a trend we need to stop. It’s time to go back and find the curiosity
that sparked the creativity and imagination of our younger years. Take the inspirations
behind the scenarios we used to create for our rock star Barbies or our battling
GI Joes and use them to recreate the silly, child-like side trapped beneath the
layers of multiplication tables, grammar and rules of proper behavior that have
been drilled into our heads.
Living in a generation where therapists, pills and media mouthpieces like Dr.
Phil help us deal with the drudgeries of everyday life, wouldn’t it be
easier to just recreate the attitude of your 6-year-old self when all that mattered
was finger paint and Playdough? Instead of complaining to your best friend about
that jerk of a professor or the stupidity of the opposite sex, wouldn’t
it be more fun to go play a game of horse or have a drawing competition?
It’s time for us to throw off the cloak of stress and responsibility for
a minute and find the magic still present in our lives. Superman may not be real,
but amazing things happen everyday all around us if we take the time to notice
them.
As we learn the secrets behind the world around us, our new knowledge reveals
a multitude of new mysteries to ponder.
How was the universe created? How can we save the ozone layer? Will time travel
ever be possible?
There will always be something more to discover, just as there never will be
a time when every possible invention has been invented. This is what drives our
society: the need to know, the motivation to explore, the desire to improve.
While regaining the innocence of our elementary school years is an impossibility,
we can still recover the curiosity and creativity that capture the magic of our
world. Simply taking joy in the silly amusements of life and carrying around
a sense of wonder wherever you go can act as a fountain of youth, creating a
child-like attitude and carefree state of mind to help keep the seriousness of
the real world temporarily at bay.
Kellie Richardson is a sophomore history major.
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