I believe that Peter Pan was the best of all of the Disney characters to ever exist. Not because he was quick on his toes whenever he encountered Captain Hook, and not because he had the ability to fly, although those were also enjoyable aspects that he also had. Still, it was Peter Pan’s fear of growing up that I have found the most interesting and easy to relate to.
The little boy gets it.
That is why our generation has dubbed the fear of growing up as “Peter Pan Syndrome.” Do you think you may have it? Because I know I do.
The irony of it all is that I could not wait to grow up when I was a child. I wanted to have my license, go to college, get an apartment and be a grown up. Now as I am out of my teenage years, in college and growing up more and more with each passing day, I wish that I could go back for just one day. You never really know what you have until you no longer have it, and that is especially true of childhood.
It seemed like time went by much more slowly as a kid. A day that consisted of playing outside, taking a nap and being in bed before 10 PM seems like a 36 hour ordeal looking back. We loved the nights where we couldn’t sleep at all because the next day beheld a birthday party, holiday or a school fun-lunch.
It makes complete sense that we do not want to grow up once we officially realize we are (semi) functioning human beings. We have to start paying bills, worrying about tax forms and realizing what we are doing with our lives. We start to see our friends fall in love and get married, which terrifies us because we feel like we have to play catch up. Sometimes we experience a friend or a loved one pass away, and that frightens us more because we start to truly realize the precious nature of our own lives. Days go by, we run through the motions and sometimes we ask if we are living our lives to the fullest potential.
Peter Pan had the right idea: growing up kind of sucks and we should refuse to do so. However, Peter was also a cartoon and his life was completely fictional, and we do not have that in our favor.
So how do we combat our forever-young syndrome?
We remind ourselves of a few things. Like the fact that we can walk into a bar after a long day of work, order a beer and enjoy it. We tell ourselves that we are on the path to greatness, and that our age and wisdom we have acquired in our years is going to help us get there. We remember that with time comes inevitable mistakes, and that mistakes lead to new lessons learned. We look forward to the milestones that come with adulthood: becoming a spouse, having children and watching them go through everything (and then some) that we did. Being able to retire, traveling to places we have always dreamed to experience. Maintaining our oldest friendships while continuing to make more friends. Getting to that point in our lives where we stop giving a f*** about the little things (we’re all trying to do so right now, but suffice it to say it is much easier said than done.)
So sure, if we could have our way I’m sure a majority of us would never grow up; but the fact that we are able to grow and mature as individuals is one that is terrifying, but enthralling all at once.
