A reflection on growing up

It's pretty amazing how drastically our perspectives change throughout the course of life. As a child, it's incredibly difficult to understand the responsibilities of adults, and even though we may long for some of the freedoms yet afforded us at the time, we don't yet realize the weight of responsibilities that come along with those very freedoms. We'll often times find ourselves enjoying life as a child, but wanting to grow up, yet not wanting to grow up too much. These areas become further blurred as we develop into teenagers and young adults in college. True adulthood approaches closer, yet still appears to be far enough in the distance where we needn't trouble ourselves thinking too much about it, while we enjoy our new-found freedoms in life, and don't yet miss those childhood years. Then when adulthood hits us, it often times befuddles many, overwhelms some, and leaves us longing for the years void of much responsibility or even freedom. Gone are the worry-less days regarding money, transportation, food, and shelter.  Gone are the days of dreaming about what to become in the future, as that future is now. Often times too, gone are the days of being filled with a childlike curiosity and enthusiasm for life. While the younger a person is in age, the more difficult it will be for him or her to understand life as an adult, it also seems that the longer a person drifts into adulthood, the more difficult it becomes to remember and grasp life as a child (having kids can significantly impact this, however). Yet, in the end, it seems that most of us want to still be a child at heart, to grow up, but never grow up too much - so we can consistently remember the past, treasure the present, and dream of the future.