In today’s age many children take advantage of their childhood.. They wish they could grow up faster and do “adultish” things in life. However, moments in one’s childhood should be something that everyone cherishes and lives in the moment for. Instead of romanticizing the future and wanting to be an adult quicker, senior Christabel Graton expresses the importance of living in the moment as she takes her final steps into adulthood and graduating.
“Living in the moment is extremely important. I know a lot of times we lose that with our phones and cameras. [However] living in the moment allows us to get to know the people around us and I think that community is something that we are really lacking. By thinking in the future we stress ourselves out and thinking in the past we kind of feel regret. The future has enough worries as it is and today has enough for today,” said Graton.
Graton expresses the importance of living in the moment in her eyes. The high school experience should be something that one enjoys every moment. Those moments are the times where one is able to gain more friends and build that community we lack in society outside school life. Instead of stressing one’s mind about what the future holds, it is important to instead just take it day by day, enjoying every small or big moment in life. Senior Valentina Castruita elaborates on why she believes it is important to not rush growing up..
“I think the older I am, the more I have come to understand how important it is [to live in the moment]. Especially [because] I deal with anxiety, so it is really hard. Living in the moment gives me a good sense that life is going to be fine,” Castruita said. “Right now I do not have to deal with the future or the past; just the present. I know it is important, but it takes a lot to [maintain that mindset and] utilize it in my life.”
Castruita reminds herself that it is important to take things one step at a time and not rush ahead of yourself. Once people get older they may reflect on those moments and instead of feeling regret it should bring content. Although some may struggle to avoid thinking about the future due to its inevitability, enjoying one’s childhood is essential. Castruita continues to share her personal struggles of growing up too quickly.
“In my [youth], I did want to grow up faster and want to be more ‘adultish.’ I wanted to have a boyfriend or be able to drive. But now, being almost an adult, I do not feel like I want to grow up faster. I like to romanticize my future because I think by romanticizing my future it allows me to dream and hopefully to achieve my goals one day. Having goals is really important because I want to be successful,” said Castruita.
When one realizes that their youth is shifting towards adulthood, there tends to be a switch when they realize that it is important to not let time just pass by. Castruita emphasizes how she personally had experienced the urge to grow up older, but now as a graduating senior she realized that there is more to life. For example, having goals allows people to have a destination and create their own path. It is crucial for people to create, design and take action in the current time in order to achieve their goal.
“I know that there are some political tensions and financial tensions especially with the current economy and worries about international conflicts. My passions are not super lucrative, so I know that when I go into life I will have to choose if I want to follow something that I am passionate about and love or something stable,” said Graton.
Although one emphasizes the importance of “living in the moment,” it is inevitable to think about what will happen in the future. Graton herself shares that she believes that it is important to only think about what is happening now, however, she herself also has concerns about her future. This shows the inescapable nature of adulthood within childhood. Growing up too quickly has been an ongoing issue that new generations have now started to realize.
“I definitely think that my friends and classmates do extracurriculars, clubs or take hard classes because they feel like it dictates their future and I can sympathize with them. I do the same thing where I want to be in a lot of extracurricular activities because I feel like [it is a necessity for my future.] I do not think it is the healthiest thing to do as it puts a lot of pressure on people, and leads to people [having the urge] to become more ‘adultish’ and stepping out of their youth in order to handle all of that stress,” said Castruita.
Within teenagers, there are many reasons why they have the incentive to want to mature or grow up. One reason is the unavoidable stress factors that come with wanting to be successful in the future. Castruita explains what she has witnessed within her peers, as she has seen them overwhelm themselves with activities due to the feeling that they need to accomplish something to have a better future. Castruita is not the only one who feels this way; this worry within teenagers is what forces them to have the urge to mature quicker.
“I feel like especially [within] Gen Alpha, social media has influenced them to step away from Barbies or Monster Trucks and into makeup and self care. It is fine to like those things, but I feel like a lot of times it is these little girls and boys wanting to [halt] their childhoods as a whole and do things that mainly teenagers start getting into,” Castrulita said. “I personally think it is unhealthy because you do not need [to do] that until you are older. But [I feel like it is important] to enjoy one’s childhood and social media [is a huge factor] in corrupting [new generations].”
These new generations have different childhoods that have been recognized by past generations. Although Gen Z and Gen Alpha are only two consecutive generations, Castruita has seen the differences and the lack of “childhood” they have. Social media being a big influence in new generations as technology is very prominent within society has altered the speed in which children grow up. They stray away from activities like going to parks and playing with dolls, instead leaning towards things that are considered to be for adults and teenagers like makeup. It is a concerning issue as it may seem as though these children are not enjoying what they can only fully enjoy at their young age.
“I think that the concept of independence and power [influences kids and teenagers to want to be older]. Control, power and the concept of being your own person is what [young people] are after. I know a lot of the times when we are younger we are grouped,” Graton said. “It is like you are with [one group] or [the other]. As an individual, especially when you get older, you choose where you want to be or who you want to be with. That is ultimately the goal [for children]; self expression.”
Graton sympathizes with how children may feel in this generation. She explains that the reason why they would want to think about being older could be influenced by what they intake from social media since it is easily accessible. The feeling of having independence at a young age is something that children dream of even if it is just in small aspects of their life.
In a video made by Facts a conversation takes place between a girl and a woman who are 58 years apart. They pose simple questions to each other asking if they would want to be younger or older. The woman said that she would swap with the young girl “in a heartbeat.”
Woman: “What is the best thing about being young?”
Girl: “You get to play with your friends.”
Girl: “Do you wish you were younger. Why?”
Woman: “Oh yes! Because when you are, you have a great time. You have lots and lots of friends and you are out all the time. You do not have all these responsibilities. [You can] go off to dance and pictures and parties so that is why I would love to be young again.” The woman continues, “The only thing I can tell you is to take every chance and every opportunity and enjoy everything and have a fabulous fabulous life. Enjoying life is the most important thing.”
This short snippet of their conversation expands the perspectives on how it feels like to be an adult and a child. The woman who has experienced both sides reminisces on how she misses things she used to be able to do when she was young and is not able to do anymore. Therefore, this shows the importance of living in the moment when you have the opportunity to do so. Later, in the future, people can look back on their memories, reminisce and be grateful for the times that they cherished.
“I feel like high school could be either the best or worst time of your life. I would really recommend trying to uphold it to its fullest ability, and in doing so, you have to live in the moment and take it day by day and try to enjoy every aspect of it,” Castruita said. “Try to understand that you will be stressed and classes will be hard, but your life is never going to look like this again where you are surrounded by a community that is like a newfound family. So, just live day by day, take everything in and be grateful.”
