Having The Time Of Your Life Vs Acting Your Age

I've noticed it's been a while since my last update, so I'm going to do something about that. So, here's my Thought of the Day:

Okay, I will confess now: I love acting like a kid. It's so relieving to suddenly drop all your responsibilities and worries and just run around giggling, as if the world is just a giant playground. I miss my innocent days. Also, there's frankly it's funny to see those who are meant to be sensible suddenly act like they are five again: it reminds us that we all have the capacity to have fun.
Some of my best memories are when I got to forget everything and throw myself into something, like a water fight or Trick o' Treating at Halloween (plus you get free sweets with that one). Deep down I'm still a little kid waiting for the games to begin.

This is all very well, but sadly at my age I'm expected to act with a little more maturity than that. A part of me embraces the independence of it, while another feels pressured and closed off by it all. I don't like to feel like my whole life rides on my decisions - which they more-or-less do nowadays. There is immense pressure to grow up quickly and learn the ways of the world, so that you can survive in it, but is it at the cost of our childhood?
I know what I face in terms of fast growth is nothing when compared with a few centuries - or even decades - ago: I'm not expected to marry by the time I'm 15 or live with the effects of wars (not noticeably anyway). I know I'm incredibly lucky to have the life I do and I am grateful for it, yet I'm still plagued by doubts and wishes to be elsewhere.
Think about it: by the time we're five years old we're in school and having to learn life skills; soon homework starts to appear and you're expected to do it or face the consequences. These are small children who are being made to worry about getting things done, when really this is the time of their lives when they should have very few worries. Okay, I may be being melodramatic here, but my point still stands: children are being made to grow up quickly. By the time the summer rolls around I'll have been in full-time education for 13 years - that's an awfully long time! These years have certainly been fun - I'm not going to deny that - but there's been an awful amount of stress, too, and they certainly weren't the carefree days that childhood is often portrayed as.

So I'm going to embrace every childish moment that comes around. I will do until I'm in my fifties and sixties, because we all need some time to be carefree - completely carefree, not with the threat of something looming over us. You can't be serious your whole life.

Okay, I may have deviated from my original topic a little but I think most of this makes sense.
Hope it's interesting to someone.
W-O xxx