If I Could Keep that Childlike Wonder...

“Untitled” By: Kira Scheig

“If I Could Keep that Childlike Wonder..." by Abbie Bobeck

If I could trade lives with anyone for a day, I would trade lives with my cousin, Francie, who is 1 years old. Although she can’t speak a full sentence or walk for more than 10 minutes consecutively, she has the world at her fingertips. Francie has an amazing family, lives in downtown Philadelphia, and has the most incredible wardrobe of anyone I've ever known. Her days are filled with car rides in her various miniature vehicles, adventures to her music class where she blows bubbles, and trips to the playground with her parents. Francie’s imagination and creativity are limitless. At her age, she becomes fascinated with the little things, like a speaker remote, and especially measuring cups. She draws what she thinks is a bunny, in scribbles of her favorite crayon flavors, over a white piece of paper; her mom will place this image on their fridge with immense pride. Francie’s life is carefree and magical. She is reading marvelous books for the first time, learning new words, and quickly becoming best friends with her uncle’s crazy beagle Zippy. Every moment I spend with Francie is filled with pure unadulterated joy. My smile is never-ending and her giggles and motions make me feel like nothing can go wrong and I have nothing to stress about. I hope one day I can feel the same amount of passion for a subject that Francie feels for her fluffy white bunny named Hop. I hope I can once again feel the strength of my own imagination and curiosity as it guides me to take on new challenges and learn more about myself and the world around me. Francie has her whole life ahead of her and a lot to learn, but I think we can all learn a lot from her wondrous fascination with life. I certainly have.