A little girl with socks that never matched...

When I was a kid I didn't care what anyone thought of me.  I mean I was fearless, independent and marched to the beat of my own, out of tune, drum.  And I loved every second of it.  

At five it was refusing to wear matching socks.  I mean what a waste of two perfectly good opportunities for self expression?  At eight it was wearing purple leggings, white cowboy boots, and brightly colored sweaters to free dress day at my British elementary school.  All the other little girls wore perfect little dresses and Mary Janes.  At ten it was my teacher calling my mom and telling her I simply could not continue bringing books to read on the playground during recess.  I had to leave my own little world and actually play with the other kids.  At eleven it was my moms utter shock when I got up on stage during a school talent show and belted out the Spice Girls Wannabe at the top of my lungs.  My outfit during the performance spoke for itself.  At twelve it was a pair of patent leather riding boots I'd picked out on a trip to London.  My teachers actually made fun of me.  I laughed it off and told them they didn't know anything about fashion.

And then I hit middle school.  I started dressing like the other kids.  I started trying to fit in.  I got a little scared.  It stayed like that through high school, through college, and through a good part of my early 20s.  Not all the fearlessness went away.  I still bombed down ski slopes, backpacked the world, and pushed myself to try new things.  But that fun loving, carefree spirit faded a little bit.  

Maybe thats just what growing up does to us, but I want some of that crazy, mix-matched socks wearing, trend setting, off tune singing kid back.  Yes there comes a point in life where we have to be serious sometimes, but why can't we bring a little more fun, playfulness into our adult life?

I've been trying to.  The moment I knew I'd succeeded came when I got a text message from a coworker laughing at how they'd seen me singing and dancing in my car on the feeder road on my way home from work one night.  It wasn't so much that I'd been doing those things, but the fact that instead of being utterly mortified at being caught I'd burst out laughing and had a huge smile on my face. 

What is it that brings back that childlike carefree nature in us as adults?  For me, its being around my close friends, the ones I know I can be totally and completely myself with.  Its going out, laughing my head off, and acting like a total idiot.  And its something I plan on doing a whole lot more of.

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Life is too short to worry about what others say or think about you.  So have fun and give them something to talk about