Trick or Treat, give me something good to eat! But if you’re older than eight, please stay home?

“You’re too old to trick or treat.” Yet we’re too young to be involved in politics? When we actually want to be involved in things that are deemed “adult business,” then we’re too young. And when we want to be involved in things deemed “childish,” then we’re too old.

From the moment we enter high school, we’re told to enjoy our last few moments of being a kid. We’re told to eat candy until our stomachs hurt, run around playing freeze tag like it’s kindergarten all over again, reminisce on all the good things, and stay encapsulated in a bubble of pure, childhood joy while we still can.

We want to soak up all the good things that come with just being a kid. In elementary school, all I wanted was to grow up and be in high school, but once I got here, all I wanted was to go back to being a kid. I remember my cousins telling me not to grown up too fast and to enjoy my childhood while it lasted. But who decides when my childhood is over? 

Who decides when I’m “too old” to play on the swings or go out on the only day I can dress in whatever I want and get candy? It should be my choice, but instead, it’s the same adults who don’t want me acting too mature the rest of the year who, that one night, decide I’m “too old.” 

What happened to the saying, “You have the rest of your life to be an adult?”

I feel like leaving high school is going to hit me hard, and then boom the adult clock starts; time for bills, taxes, and way more responsibilities that I don’t want. I’m okay with that as long as I get to make the most out of my childhood. But I guess not right?

Adults understand more than us. They understand the headaches, the draining days, and the constant need to work not just for themselves, but for their families. Additionally, I have never met an adult who wouldn’t want their kids to soak up all they can from their childhood. We have the rest of our lives to stress about everything else; let us enjoy the little things before life kicks our butts in the future. 

Trick or treat give me something good to eat; you were once me, so let me be the kid I want to be.