But never mind that. Whether or not you are a 90's kid, you still have childhood memories. Heck, my dad's childhood memories are those of shooting birds outside and playing with wild animals (he is that old). My childhood memories consist mainly of cartoons, video games, and habits (as observed by 9GAGGERS worldwide).
Recently I've delved into a particular childhood memory: Digimon. Well, to be fair, only Digimon Tamers, the 3rd series/season. I wasn't old enough to reach (funny how backwards that is, eh? How could I have 'reached' it, go back in time?) the first two seasons which, judging by YouTube comments and my brother--and the fact that I haven't seen them, were the best.
Just listening to the opening and ending theme song was enough. It's that feeling... that feeling of clarity, and, oddly, cleanliness (or perhaps purity) I get when I reminisce. I feel like a kid again and I don't really know why. Maybe it because the weight of the world is lifted off your shoulders and for one fleeting moment, you haven't a care in the world about anything.
So then it got me thinking about the other posts in 9GAG, about how the children are today with their Facebook accounts, their iPods, make-up, and way-too-young-to-have relationships and their knowledge of profane language (these may be just Americans, but I don't know). If I ever get a chance to stand in front of an audience filled with these kids, I'd tell them to cherish their childhood days, REGARDLESS of whether it's unlike the 90's kids' or mine. Just as long as they don't stress themselves out because of it.
Different generations have different childhoods. As I mentioned earlier, my dad's had him hunting birds and coming home from school to make his own snacks out of stuff he picked in the wilderness (jeez, how old is he?). I remember him telling me one day that he was proud to be one of the only families in his village (village? Is that right?) with a TV. In my generation, every family has a TV. If you don't, you're either poor or your parents wanted you to study like hell and probably received news from newspapers and stuff.
So back to my point: cherish your childhood and don't try to rush into growing up because I gotta say, and many experts will agree with me on this, sometimes (but almost always) growing up sucks. As usual, "no pain, no gain." I really don't know if it's true that kids can't wait to grow up, but if they do, that's really something you should think about.
The greatest thing about being a kid is simply that you had no worries.
When I was a kid, I had weird worries. But who knows, maybe someone on 9GAG had the same worries as I had. I worried about school a lot. Not my grades (pfft) but about how people thought of me, especially my teachers. If I had said or done something that day, I would stay up at night thinking about how a other people would see it through their own eyes. Like if I had said something out of line (which wasn't unusual despite the fact that I was an extremely shy kid) I would worry about whether my teachers' opinions of me would change, whether they would see me as a rebellious kid or whether they would see me as 'outspoken' (it has happened, people).
I also did a regular check-up on my dad by asking myself "what do I have to worry about?" And the answers usually ranged from 'are Paolo and I still friends tomorrow' to 'how will I get out of doing my Filipino homework tomorrow.' Yes, I once lied to my teacher and told her that I had left my workbook in school, which was why I was "unable" to do my homework--I AM SO SORRY, MRS. DIMLA BUT REST ASSURED IT WAS ONLY THAT ONE TIME. And to prove my remorse, I still think about that day seven years ago.
Anyway... the worries I have now? Well, I am still a college student but the worries are now ALL about school work. 'Will I pass the long test?', 'what if my topic isn't approved?', 'I can't think of anything to write!', 'I'm not good at writing in Filipino, how the hell am I supposed to publish two essays?'
I am quite thankful I don't go through normal adolescent problems concerning relationships and what I believe to be "bland and untrue" love. I consider myself very naive on that topic. BUT I don't ditch the idea of finding love at a young age, so don't misunderstand me. My eldest brother actually met his wife back in high school. He went to college in ADMU while she stayed in Pampanga and studied in HAU but they stayed together for years. And now I have a nephew whom I bought a P3,000 motorcycle for.
I'm straying off topic...
Main point--again: Don't be in a hurry to grow up because you'll find out soon enough that you WILL be missing the days when everything was just soooo easy. BUT you can hurry growing up in terms of, like, being more responsible, learning to pay the bills and stuff... I'm contradicting myself a lot so I never really get to lay a solid point.
But life's like that isn't it? As I've told my best friend once, you can't really say what's going to happen five, ten years from now. Life's what you make it (I just realized that line is in Hannah Montana's song) and whatever it throws at you (like lemons), it's up to you to figure out whether it's a blessing (lemonade) or you know... bad luck that can turn into something great (turned out to be an oblong grapefruit so you made an apple pie).
*clap* *clap* *clap* what a great philosophical ending.
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