Giraffes have purple tongues and are approximately 17 feet tall. They have 32 teeth and all different spot patterns. 

Last month I wanted to write an article about something happy. I wanted it to be funny and make people smile but while I was writing, I decided I hated it. I couldn’t think of any ideas and every time I read it I cringed. I ended up writing about something sad, something that did the opposite of making people smile. This month, thinking about what I wanted to write about, I reflected on what I did last month. While I was trying to think of a jovial topic, I thought of giraffes. I don’t like that when trying to think of something mirthful — the only thing I could think of was giraffes. But keeping the past in the past, this month is going to be better. 

I wanted to start my writing with giraffes and credit them for giving me this idea, but what I want to talk about is being a kid and what I love about it. I’m almost 16 and I love it. I love being in high school, I love going to football games, I love spending time with my parents, I love it all. Sure there are some cons like homework and immature peers but overall, I don’t think it’s too bad. Everyone deserves to live their life like a kid. I don’t think when you get older it should be weird for you to be happy doing things you used to enjoy. Just because you’re 30 instead of 16, those little things you used to find joy in can still be a part of your life. 

I’m 16, but today I feel like the color orange. Tomorrow, I might feel like the color purple. I don’t like to feel like the color red, but when I feel like pink it’s like I’m floating. This morning I asked for a donut with sprinkles. I asked for whipped cream on my hot chocolate and burnt my tongue when I tried to drink it too quickly. I held my breath as I went past the graveyard on my way to school, and I pressed a kiss to the window for the deer that met its demise. I make a heart with my hands in photos and still think pinky promises are for life. I jump in leaf piles whenever I can and skip down the sidewalk with my mom, hand in hand. Putting makeup on in the morning makes me feel more grown up, and sometimes I still use my grandma’s perfume since it makes me feel loved. I love to stick out my tongue in the mirror and draw a smiley face on the window when there’s condensation. I love a lot of things about being a kid and I don’t want that to end. 

By the time I’m 30, I hope that it will be okay to get whipped cream on my hot chocolate and sprinkles on my donut. I want my car windows to be covered in hearts and stars. I think I will still like skipping with my mom and making pinky promises. There are just so many things that I don’t think will leave me just because I’ve aged. That is what I don’t understand. How you can just forget about things that used to make you so happy? 

I am petitioning for everyone to feel like a kid again. Sure you have to go to work instead of school, but maybe you can find joy in the little things again. Draw hearts on a post-it note, and write in a colorful pen. Make funny faces at yourself in the mirror and have a dance party in your room. There are a lot of things I love in this world and they won’t ever go away. I hope the same is true for you and we all learn to love these things again.