Child at Heart

I recently ran across an article titled "Top five regrets of the dying" via The Guardian news. (See entire article here.) According to this piece, the top five regrets of those on their deathbeds are the following:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2.I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I recently lost a very close friend, and I'd be lying if I said that death hasn't been weighing heavily on my mind recently. This article surprisingly didn't provoke thoughts of death for me, though. Instead, as I was reading through the list, I began to think that each of these things is so very childlike... in the best possible way.

1. Children don't care what others think of them. They will approach anyone and befriend anyone without the insecure notions that plague us as we age.
2. Children don't live from paycheck to paycheck. They have the luxury of not having to do so yet. They DO know how to lose themselves instantly and enjoy the moment though, something that we too often forget when we get caught up in the rat race.
3. Children are honest to the point of having no filter sometimes. They definitely don't hide their feelings though. Children are the first to say "I love you" and the first to reach out for a hug.
4. Children live for their friends. They don't see a divide between social classes, race or income.
5. There is no noise greater than that of a full-bellied eruption of laughter from a child. Kids haven't forgotten yet how to be happy. They see the world with wonder and not as a place of evil.

All of these realizations struck me as common sense. It's hard to "forget" how to be an adult. It's hard to go back to a place of no cares when there are bills to pay, classes to pass, appointments to make and obligations to fulfill. Since I realize that this concept isn't just a switch that you can turn on and off, I decided to make my own list of child-like things that I'll never be too old for. Maybe these can remind me to take a minute to try to see the world as a place of endless possibilities, even if just for a few minutes.

I'll NEVER be too old for:

1. Hair Bows*

*Or puppies

2. Nap Time

3. Disney Movies

4. Dress-Up

(now it's just the more grown up version..)

5. Swing sets. 

6. Sparklers 

7. Sandcastles 

8. ICEE Cokes 

9. Catching Lightning bugs 

10. Calling Mommy or Daddy when something goes wrong... 

Single Belles, Single Belles

Is it just me, or are more and more people within my social circle getting ENGAGED? WHAT? I feel like our society has tied me to some timeline: that it's expected of me to be flaunting a ring by the spring that I turn 22 and graduate. Someone else shared with me THEIR timeline for getting married recently that went as follows: "If I can't afford an open bar at my wedding, then I'm not old enough to be getting married." Perhaps it is the recently-dumped angst within me, however I have decided that this is a very smart mindset to have-- especially in today's world where marriages dissolve seemingly overnight. In reaction to this idea, I have compiled a list of reasons (mostly specific) as to why I am happy to be single right now. This is not to say that I am against being pursued by the right person at the right time, (I really, really want to fall in love and live happily ever after, and if that happens by the time I'm 22, that's perfectly fine by me...) just that these are the reasons that I am happy, in my current state, at this very moment, with being single and dependent only on myself (and my daddy):

1. I can actually eat the food that I buy at the grocery store, instead of someone else destroying it before I can get it into the refrigerator.

2. I can fill my entire apartment with holiday scented candles UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF JULY and no one can tell me I'm being ridiculous.

3. I can accept date invitations to ANY fraternity events that I wish to attend. At any college that I wish to visit.

4. I can wear leggings and t-shirts/Nike shorts and t-shirts EVERY single day, and no one will tell me I'm "letting myself go."

5. I can also wear my favorite dresses out without anyone complaining that they are "too short."

6. I can go shopping without anyone telling me that I'm wasting my money.

7. I don't feel like I ever HAVE to be the designated driver.

8. No one tells me that I spoil my dog or that I'm too nice to her.

9. I am the judge of how good my cooking is. And I say it is fantastic.

10. I can blast Dave Matthews without anyone changing it to rap or punkrock. (Amendment: I would give up my Christmas candles to marry Dave.)

11. I don't have to listen to complaints about how many guy friends I have. (Note to future boyfriend(s): They've been here since kindergarten. They're staying, whether you do or not.)

12. I don't base my schedule on anyone except for myself..... And my dog.

13. I can get excited about sorority events without anyone telling me that they don't sound very fun or that they're stupid.

14. I can watch every single Harry Potter movie in one day, on a Sunday, instead of football, because guess what? The Panthers SUCK this year, and I don't really care to watch every other team in the NFL play on repeat ALL DAY.

15. This also goes for Monday night football and EVERY OTHER NIGHT of the week. Not that I dislike football. I just really like being about to watch it when I WANT to.

16. I can watch every single Red Sox game & not be told that baseball sucks.

17. The only rumors that I hear are about what I did the night before, not who my boyfriend is cheating on me with.

18. Boys buy you more drinks at the bar when they hear you're no longer tied down.

19. Now, I obsess over boys treating me the right way as opposed to constantly obsessing over how I'm being treated poorly.

20. I can shave my legs when I want to. Which is every day. But that part is irrelevant.

21. My lime green toenails can exist in that color at peace from criticism.

22. I can sleep in flannel shorts or ratty t-shirts. And spend the next half day in them.

23. I can eat spaghetti-O's and lean pockets for dinner. For a week straight. Without complaint from anyone.

24. I can and did just apply to NYU on a whim. Because I had been wanting to. And there is no one to hold me from going or not going.

25. The only insecurities I have to deal with are my own.

26. People in long term relationships are fatter, on average, than those who are single.

27. Compliments from others aren't expected, so when they come, they feel deserved and/or intentional.

28. I can go to church on Sundays, if I want to, without thinking that I'll ever "change" someone else.

29. No more guys hiding in my phone under girl's names (sorry.)

30. I can pour my energy into my friendships and my passion into my goals.

31. I can clean my apartment at 3 am instead of rushing to have it neat by the time my boyfriend arrives.

32. I'm sure others will critique my body, goals, and decisions in many ways, however none of these people are close enough to me for it to hurt me. The people I allow close enough to hurt me, are the ones who I trust not to.

p.s. If you were to decide to put a ring on it, these are the rings that one day, someday, maybe, perhaps, (Harry, Tiff or David) will end my single streak.