2This I Believe: "He Took My Crayon!"
Volunteering at a daycare center for preschoolers, "He took my crayon!" is a phrase I hear frequently from the children. A child would often argue with another child for such a simple matter and cry, but within a few minutes, they play with one another as if nothing happened. Why? Children are forgivers; they forgive and forget – a character trait that is fundamental to have in life. Children may cry for such small matters or complain repeatedly, but I believe children truly are "gifts from God" because they teach us to look at life at a different perspective, a perspective that could help us live a better life. As a teenager, I used to see children as young and naïve, not knowing much about living life. However, I have come to know that children, whether they know it or not, educate us on how to really live a fulfilling life.
Have you ever seen a child wake up in the morning with a bright, smiling face and say, "What day is it?" I have. Being the eldest of four children, I have seen all three of my siblings ask this question many times in the morning when they were younger. Back then, I thought of it simply as a question that meant that the child is clueless about time. As I have discovered, this question has a much deeper meaning than I have originally thought. Young children wake up each day ready to start over, not thinking about what had happened in the past; they put the past aside and think about the brand new day with enthusiasm and curiosity. As a young adult, I have lost this energy and instead of waking up in the morning thinking about the new opportunity to have a better day, I face the day with boredom and fatigue, worrying about what lies ahead. We should learn from children. We should not worry about the past and we should not worry about the future. Instead, we should live the moment and seize the day, capturing every opportunity we have to create memories to last us a lifetime.
Have you ever heard a child say "What's that?" to almost every object they see? I have. A child has a sense of curiosity and loves to explore; to them, everything needs to be discovered, sensed, and experienced. This drive that children have to want to know about everything – even the most typical objects – is quite amazing. The simplicities of the world are often ignored and overlooked, but children are the only ones that seem to see the beauties of the simple things in life. Seeing a butterfly soar in the breeze is seen with awe and admiration by a child while others pass, not even looking in its direction.
Have you ever seen a child attend the first day of school and say, "Look, it's my friends!" with excitement and glee? I have. Children, no matter what gender, age, or race considers even strangers as their friends. They do not exclude certain people and they do not judge based on looks or appearances. We should all learn from children's blindness to stereotypes, discrimination, and judgmental thoughts. We should not judge others by appearance, but of character and make friends with everyone. As the children in daycare say, "Everyone is friends with each other here."
Have you ever heard a child say "I love you" to his parents or other family members everyday? I have. My 7-year-old brother never lets a day pass by without saying "I love you" to every person in our household. Children love to say this phrase to those they care about. No matter what, children give unconditional love. Even when you have done a wrong-doing or have been depressed for a reason a child does not know about, he never fails to simply smile to lighten up your mood give words or acts of encouragement.
Have you ever seen a child smile to himself for no reason at all? I have. Children, although naïve and clueless, smile incredibly huge smiles sometimes even for no reason whatsoever. Children are optimistic thinkers and look on the bright side of things; they do not let negative thoughts ruin their day because they know there are more positive outcomes in life rather than negative ones. They never fail to smile each day.
Children, although young and inexperienced, are surprisingly the best mentors one can have. They are wonderful teachers. They do not think about complexities and love the simple joys in life, being oblivious to unpleasant judgments and criticisms. Even though children know so little, they already know so much; they have taught me new ideas and have reminded me how to really live my life. I am delighted and grateful to know that I have so many children around me everyday to teach me more and more, and even more.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading this. I hope that you have learned something new, or have at least taken a new perspective at life. Please review, comment, tip, or criticize. Send me any type of feedback at all...Even if it's just one word, it'd really make my day! Thank you!