You remember those days when you had fun swinging back and forth on those sets, care-free. You also remember your siblings, the ones that made your life particularity difficult, replacing your toothpaste with glue, the non-stop yelling over who gets to go first. Who's to say that when you grow up, you'll change, "mature"? Is it because adults and teenagers do it? Are we drawn in by the possibility of the "popular crowd" and go with the flow?

I remember those memories clearly, like the bright screen of the tv. I used to enjoy scaling the rock climbing wall and doing back-flips like I was born to do them. Nowadays? I sit in front of a tv watching all day or talking on the phone with my friends. Talking about cute boys all day, partying all night.

One day, I sat with one of my oldest friends at lunch, the one I don't have fun with anymore. Suddenly, something in my mind snapped everything into perspective, and I couldn't believe it had only been two years since we've last talked. She hasn't changed at all. Not interested in talking about guys who just grabbed and kissed the first girl they might call hot. My closest friend? Forget it. She's off spending over five hundred dollars per week. And I used to be a dirty tomboy/goth. I loved the outdoors, getting my whole body messy, actually having fun. That lunch day, I felt sad that we weren't how we used to be. Our bond strengthened since then, just like old times. My best friend can't even remember my birthday. How did we even get so far apart?

My heart squeezes whenever I see or hear a girl giggling, pointing at the nearest cute boy, wondering if they'd go out with them. They never used to think like that. Is it because we, as people, think it's maturing into teenagers, then adults? Sometimes, I really wonder. I'm back the way I was those two years ago today, with the exception of dirty (it's not hygienic). I hate guys for cussing and girls falling over their heels for boys. I've observed from a distance, and seen it all. The girls had been drawn in by what people call "love". There's nothing there when the breakups happen. Is it because we teens suddenly feel the loss? Or is it because we've made a mistake trying to go after a guy that wasn't right?

I don't know what other people might say. Perhaps it is "maturing". Perhaps it's not. You can still be both, being a little more intuitive and care a little about more things, and still have the same child-like me I was when I was five, like I am today. Think about it for even five seconds. Do you want to go on your first date and get that first kiss, but still are the same you once were? Has your thinking changed? Although it may be a bad thing, most people change because they think it's the right thing. How about you?