By: Brianna Gualco
In the fourth grade, Miss Webster’s class to be exact, was the first time I had ever been to the Deerfield Fair located in Deerfield New Hampshire. It was one of the most cherished field trips in my elementary school. My mother was a chaperone for my brother, and I remember the excitement and fun they had together.
Fast forward 20 years and I get to experience this magical land with my mother and now my daughter for the first time. Seeing my daughters face light up with the animals, rides and food vendors must have been the same feeling my mom experienced with me all those years ago.
I have always heard that when you have children, you get to be a kid again as their parent. Immediately my mind drifts to heightened imagination and playing games. I think the most important part for me “being a kid” again is to slow down life and be enthralled with life’s daily wonders that we zoom past as adults. Life can be simple and if you are willing to take a step back from time to time who knows what inner kid you can re-discover.
Changing one’s mindset is not the easiest of things to do and starting can be the biggest step to take. So how can you discover your inner child again? Maybe once a day you look at the sky for 2-5 minutes to see if you can find shapes in the clouds. Perhaps one of the hardest things for us adults to do is consciously disconnect from the world around us.
Working in a heavily regulated, higher education industry could certainly make a case for the need to take a step back and find your fun again. This is one reason why “FUN” is a FAS motto in our office. As a company, we try to find those moments of our childhood by incorporating little things into our routines like game night, companywide scavenger hunts, or even coloring together and hanging our pictures up in the office kitchen 😉.
So ask yourself:
“What did I enjoy as a child, and why don’t I make the time to enjoy it in the present day?”
About the Author:
Brianna Gualco is a Student Eligibility Review Specialist at FAS. Her daughter inspires her to be the best person she can be. Family is everything to her, and she is grateful for an employer that recognizes that. She is looking forward to the colder months approaching, as she recently discovered her enjoyment of ice fishing!