Don't ever grow up.

As I was sitting in church today, my attention was briefly drawn to two boys sitting in the row in front of me. Their dad was called as Bishop last week, and I could see him with an almost strained smile when he would look at them. It was sortof adorable in a disruptive way, if you know what I mean. During prayer, they were whispering and giggling, and at one point, the younger of the two boys shoved his socked foot into his brothers face, laughing obnoxiously. At this point, their mother sat in between them.
This sorta got me thinking. These boys are both under 10. They have little to no worries in their lives. And for about an hour, I was envious of their innocence and young age. My life ain't a cake-walk. It's not super easy. It's sure as heck confusing. And the stress of school sometimes makes me want to weep and then die.
But I digress.
This isn't the first time I've wished I hadn't grown up. Come on. Who hasn't wished that? It was easy. You didn't worry about your acne, your waistline, your hair color. You didn't worry about having a boyfriend. You didn't have drama with other girls. It was just...easy.
After thinking about this for a minute, I realized that, maybe I'm glad I grew up. All of the stress and drama aside, being "grown up" is pretty great. Boys are getting to be mature. Lemme tell ya, that's fabulous. ;) I have a job. I'm going to college. I have freedoms. I can govern myself. I can BE myself. I mean, even though life is kinda hard, it's pretty dang fabulous. Sure, there are things that I sorta wish I could change. But there are somethings I wouldn't give up for anything, not even a stress free life.

Anyone who's anyone(just kidding), will know the Taylor Swift song "Never Grow Up". Whenever I hear this song, I think of my 3 year old sister. She is so young, so innocent, so flippin adorable, that it kills me to think of her going through the stress and heartbreak of being older. But, since growing up is inevitable, I want to be an example. The epitome of success. I want to show her that you can make it through. Ya know? I want to show her that, although I don't want her to grow up, that it isn't so bad. That you can make it through. Because getting to that end goal? Yeah, that's gonna be awesome. I mean, we're all gonna meet that special someone, and begin your life with them. And then you'll retire with that someone. And you'll die with that someone.
AND-- every struggle and trial makes you a stronger and better person.