Avram Anca-Maria, Clasa a XI-a „Atanasie Marienescu”, Lipova, județul Arad Coordinating teacher, Butaciu Carmen-Mirela
Childhood
What is childhood? In the dictionary, it says that childhood is a period from birth to adolescence, but if you ask someone on the street, they will say a completely different thing. They will say it is a place, such as grandma’s house, or the playground, they will say it is a smell, such as freshly baked cookies, or a game or a show. They will start telling you memories, and perhaps their eyes will start to water. Childhood is something different for each one of us. It is learning how to ride a bike and getting bruises and scratches from falling so many times. It is climbing up a tree to get those sweet red cherries and fearing the dark or the monster under the bed. It is making snowmen and starting a fight with snow balls. It is going to sleep and not caring about tomorrow and the bedtime stories. It is swinging so fast and high on the swing that you think you will reach the sky. It is pretending to be the most powerful hero and saving the world. It is the time of your life when you think you can do anything, you have no worries and there is always someone to catch you when you are going to fall, your parents. Childhood is a feeling, happiness. All those memories bring us joy, we remember how happy we were back then, and we wish we could turn back the time and if we could, we would. I think childhood is in our hearts. Whenever we want to go back in time and feel like children again, we can. We just have to find the corner of our hearts where we threw and hid our childhood. Once we do this and have the right friends, we can go back, even if it is just for a day. What can stop us from doing what we liked when we were children, just for one day or for one hour? Nothing can. I believe that from time to time, every person should do what they loved when they were young. No matter if it is riding the bike, or swinging on a swing, or dancing, or jumping in the bed. These actions will make us feel children again, and nothing can compare with that feeling. The only problem with childhood is that we did not know how fast it would end and how much we would crave for just one more day as a child. We did not know we should enjoy every day and should not hold grudges because one of our friends did not want to play with us that day. When we were kids, every adult used to tell us to enjoy while it lasted, because we were going to feel sorry when it ended. At that time, we did not understand why they were saying that. We were wondering: “Don’t adults have fun? They have a car and can go anywhere they want, they have money and they can buy the newest toys. No one can tell them