Being an adult without kids is not the same as being a kid yourself.

I’ve seen a trend of people in their 20s and 30s referring to themselves as “big kids” or “a kid at heart.” They talk about how being an adult is stressful and they just want to watch cartoons and play with toys all day.<br><br>Being a kid is not having control over a single aspect of your life. It’s being told what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and if you can do it at all. It’s being treated as lesser and taken less seriously. It’s being poked and prodded and examined and critiqued and questioned by every adult around you.<br><br>I’ve had adults ask me why I’m wearing makeup or why my hair is “like that” or why I’m wearing certain clothing when I was only 11. I’ve been told I’m too pretty to be tomboyish and that I’m too ugly to wear my hair “like that.”<br><br>I’ve been groped, hugged, and kissed by adults without my permission. I’ve been poked and prodded by doctors and nurses in ways that are not only painful, but that I did not consent to. I’ve been fingerprinted by strangers when I was only a few years old.<br><br>I was made to feel ashamed of my body for existing. I was made to feel embarrassed for having a period. I was made to feel humiliated for having feelings that were not approved of by the adults around me.<br><br>I have to deal with strangers touching me in public because children are seen as community property. I’ve been touched and groped by strangers in public for standing in the “wrong” place, for wearing the “wrong” clothes, and for being in the “wrong” mindset.<br><br>I am an adult and I do not want to be a kid again. I do not want to be treated as lesser. I do not want to be made to feel ashamed or embarrassed or humiliated. I do not want to be viewed as lesser. I do not want to be viewed as a lesser person.<br><br>Being a kid is not fun. It’s not something to be glorified or idolized. It’s not something to romanticize. It’s nothing anyone should want. It’s nothing anyone should want for themselves, their children, or their loved ones.<br><br>Remember that, the next time you talk about how great it would be to be a kid again.