You might regret eating that extra scoop of ice cream or spending an outrageous amount of money on those fancy, yet uncomfortable shoes, but I promise you’ll never regret being a kid.

As we get older, judgment grows and trust plummets. As a kid, the brand of jeans you wore didn’t matter as long as you could run in them to avoid being tagged “it.” And a pinky promise between friends meant more than any binding contract between two parties.

No matter how many times anyone told me, “enjoy being a kid,” it never truly clicked. Being a kid meant your parents had to drive you everywhere, you had to do chores to pay for anything cool, and as the older sibling, you were always to blame when someone came in the house crying. Being a kid also meant you had summer vacations, sleepovers and if you were lucky, your parents would do your laundry. Who was I kidding, being a kid was awesome.

I wish I were courageous enough to be a kid just a little bit longer. It would have been an extremely courageous move to stand out as someone that didn’t rush off to get Abercrombie & Fitch jeans the minute everyone else did and decided to continue wearing their comfy windproof sweat pants. And you know what? I remember those courageous kids. They were immediately judged for being different and were considered outsiders. I’m sure I was even one of those that judged, but looking back today, those kids were much smarter than I was and I applaud them for being so brave.

There’s no reason any kid should be wearing makeup to elementary school. Playing four square, tag and riding bikes will always be more fun than playing a video game. Just because your parents have an elevator in their house doesn’t mean you rule the school.

You may regret that haircut in 3rd grade, but you’ll never great playing on the swings with your bad haircut hidden by butterfly clips. You’ll never regret being a kid.