My grandpa recalls the same stories every time I visit them when I’m back in Minnesota. The favorite black flowered dress I would wear for days on end. The hours I’d spend playing dress-up with my grandma’s jewelry & heels. Watching me play in the mud puddles with my brother as he plowed the field in our front yard.

As he was reminiscing these stories yet again he said “You were always an adventurous little girl, up for anything. You’d jump right in.” 

I remember a lot of experiences & events from my childhood, but I don’t remember a lot of who I was a child. Perhaps that’s because when we’re 7 we don’t analyze ourselves like we do when we’re 27. I think we’re our truest selves before age 10. After that we have to fight for our inner child.

But I hope that adventurous little girl always speaks up. I hope I have the determination to fight for the sense of innocence & idealism that keeps her alive; the spirit that’s not afraid to be bold.

Do you remember who your inner child was? The one that wasn’t afraid to be?