Childhood

Below is a conversation that Shyla and I had while texting yesterday afternoon. I have edited it from chatspeak to normal English for the convenience of readers lol.

Shyla: It's really scary to think we'll be adults in 3 years.
Abby: Oh my gosh. I was about to say "no we won't" and then I thought about it and was like whoa. Hahaha but we won't really be adults because we'll probably still be dependant on our parents.
Shyla: True, but it's like our childhood will be gone... forever.
Abby: Hahaha. Enjoy it while it lasts because in reality, it doesn't last too long. 18 years out of an average 80 year existance. And we're in such a hurry to grow up that we don't even really appreciate it.
Shyla: I know. I just have to make my life worthwhile and make a difference.
Abby: Aww. Yeah, that's what I want to do too. But I'm scared of death, so I hope that by the time I'm old enough to die (naturally), I'll have come to terms with it.
Shyla: It's one thing to be scared of death. Haha I'm scared of life lol.
Abby: Hahahaha. That too. But I feel like you can't really be scared of something when you're living it every day. You just have to learn how to live, if that makes sense.
Shyla: Haha. Yeah, it does lol.
Abby: I can't imagine retiring...
Shyla: Oh my gosh, haha. I know. I don't think I want to.
Abby: Me neither. But it seems like you go to elementary and middle school to set the foundation for high school, and then you go to a good high school to get into a good college. You go to a good college to get a good job and make a lot of money so you can retire. It all seems pretty pointless to me...
Shyla: That's because it is. Lol.
Abby: I mean, I'd love to work and make a name for myself and make a positive difference, but the route doesn't really make sense, unless you consider retiring as achieving happiness and doing all that you needed to do. But a lot of people try to do everything that they weren't able to do before during retirement.
Shyla: Yeah lol. I don't think that we have a good cycle. There's only so much to accomplish.
Abby: I know. Maybe that's how some people go overboard, thinking they could do it all...

If you ask most adults something that they regret about their childhood, they'll say something along the lines of not appreciating it for what it was while they were living it. With that said, why are we so obsessed with the idea of growing up? Getting a driver's license, turning 21 so we can go to Vegas and drink (legally), paying bills, getting a house. Why do we look forward to it when the people who are living it wish they could go back to being like us? As the saying goes, you really don't know what you've got until it's gone. In this case, the thing that you're losing is your childhood.