- Rachel Reynolds
Why It's (not) Time To Grow Up
“Anyone with artistic ambitions is trying to reconnect with the way they saw things as a child” (Tim Burton)
Tim, my man, I could not agree more. To be honest, my track record of “growing up” isn’t the best:
- The day after I graduated college I ditched my degree and bolted straight to Disney World to make $10/hr working at the Magic Kingdom Christmas Shop.
- After two years in the “real world” as a corporate designer I cleaned out my cubicle and pursued a career in painting.
- I dress my dog up in different seasonal bandanas every month.
- I can’t stay put and always find myself in new cities just because I’m curious.
Do you remember the way you saw things as a child? When you finger-painted a blob but it was actually a masterpiece of your family, dog, and house on a sunny day. When you climbed a tree and felt like a world explorer. When you sprinted around a park, not to burn calories, but because you wanted to see how fast you could go. When you jumped into a puddle instead of walking around it. When you ran up to your crush on recess and told them you liked them. That wasn't just me, was it?
That feeling - that’s something I try to achieve every day. I wish I was half as brave as I was when I was 6, but I’m getting there. It’s so easy to get caught up in what we “should” be doing, to do things only to impress others, and to get into a routine that is limiting our heart. But I’m here to tell you, in my oh-so-wise 25 years of living, it’s the times that I approached life with a childlike heart that I am the most grateful for.
My hope is that you can find one way to reconnect with the way you saw things as a child. For me it’s painting. But for you it might be decorating a cake, and hey - now you can use a real oven instead of that easy-bake lightbulb crap. Or maybe you’ll sub out one of your workouts to play dodgeball. Whatever it is, I think you’ll just be super happy that you did it, and I hope you let me know how it goes!
With love,
Rachel
Photos by the talented Collin Nixon | nixonphotogs@gmail.com