When We Were Young

there was a time, some years ago, when everything made sense. i would run to school excited to play with my friends and learn more about everything. i would play basketball on the weekends and play outside with my friends. everything was simple. everything was perfectly in place. the problem is, they tell you not to grow up fast. to enjoy your youth. but i never listened. when i was six i wanted to be eight. when i was eight, i wanted to be fourteen. i always thought fourteen sounded like a cool age. now i'm twenty, and i would do anything to be six again. there's something about a smile at such a young age. it's not broken, or tarnished. it doesn't hide years of failed relationships or broken promises between best friends. it encompasses every joyful feeling inside of you and showcases it for the world to see. at twenty, i wish i could smile like i did when i was seven. i'm still a very happy person and always have been. but when i was seven, the suffering of high school, the pain of first year and the sadness of stories ending too soon hadn't impacted me. if i didn't want to smile, or was mad about something- it seems odd now that i could be mad about anything at such a great age-i didn't smile. but when i did, everything was wonderful. i want to feel like that again, i want to smile with no inhibitions. i want to roll down hills and scrape my knee. i want to play soccer baseball for gym class and count down the hours til home time. i want to bike ride over to my best friend's house and ask them to play, or better yet, arrange the play date through our mothers. i want to be seven again or at least live like i am.