By Lara Charmaine Lagorra
The world once seemed more colorful and bright, untouched by worries about the future or the problems that came with it. We carried the innocence of not knowing how the world truly works—the childhood filled with genuine smiles, toys, full meals, playtimes under the sun, and afternoon naps.
We wanted to grow up fast, believing that it meant freedom—no rules, no limits, and the promise of doing whatever we wanted. Now as adults, we can’t quite understand why we were in such a hurry to grow up. We now stand in the thick weight of responsibilities, exhaustion, and expectations.
Playtimes were fueled by imagination, transforming living rooms into kingdoms beyond our wildest dreams. The heat of the sun never bothered us—until our moms called us inside, gently reprimanding us while placing a towel on our backs, sticky with sweat.
Weekends felt like true rest days, when we could sit for hours watching cartoons on the old television, while trays of our favorite snacks were prepared—sweet, salty, and always made with love.
From outside, neighborhood friends would call our names, their voices echoing, inviting us to join them on the streets. We played tag, hide and seek, patintero, piko, and tumbang preso, using whatever we had at hand: slippers, chalks made from crushed stones, and empty cans for endless games.
Our worlds were built from dust, sunlight, and laughter, bound by the shared understanding that it is okay to be loud and messy without judgment. It was innocence wrapped in a kind of joy that needed no more explanation.
But time itself seemed to slow down, stretching wide enough to hold everything we loved. These moments felt ordinary back then; we barely gave it a second thought.
Now, they seem almost unreachable—moments we all took for granted.
As the years pass, many of us have had to grow up. The colors that once brightened our world now seem to fade, leaving everything feeling gray and dull. The heaviness of today’s problems hits us differently—concerns about the state of the world, big decisions that will shape our future, the pressures of school and career that stretch the mind, and emotional burdens we carry silently. It’s a kind of exhaustion that no simple nap can remedy.
We sometimes wish we could slow down and stay in those old days forever, but time moves forward relentlessly. Nostalgia reminds us not to outrun our lives as we once did. We can still look back—rewatch a favorite childhood cartoon, make the snacks our moms used to prepare, or buy that toy we always wanted.
While we can’t return to our childhood, its wonder remains within us. Our inner child lives on, and by acknowledging it, we can build a gentler, kinder relationship with life today. Yes, we have to be adults, but sometimes we just need to let loose and have fun.
