Can I outgrow more than just the bed I slept in, or the room I lived in? Can I outgrow the entire town?

When I was 7 my mom moved my brother and me to Ruma Illinois. The sign that leads you into the town says:

We stayed for only a year, but I continue to go back almost every summer for at least a couple of days.  Everything about me stood out to the locals. I was outspoken, opinionated, and used to a city that was culturally diverse and the complete opposite of this new place in almost every way. Regardless, I made some of the strongest bonds imaginable, which amidst obvious differences gave true meaning to the word friendship.
Back in Ruma Yesterday, I walked up the stairs that led to a bedroom I shared every summer with my best friend when we were kids. I do this every time I visit, just to make sure its still there, in her parents’ house, right where I left it. Nothing ever changes in that room. It’s still filled with an old corkboard that has every memory pegged into it. I opened the door and said to my friends mom, “oh you remodeled the room, its smaller!” she said, “no I didn’t, you’re just bigger!”

Sometimes I sit and think about how small I am on this planet, what my place is, and how I can be more than just a figure floating through. It’s my favorite pass time. My brother and I do that a lot; we somehow find ourselves wrapped up in these intense discussions about all kinds of nonsense. I think its very age appropriate.  In fact, I hear a lot of young people sit and have endless “philosophical” discussions about theories they are discovering or revelations that seem so fascinating in the moment. I know what you are thinking but yes, all this can be done without the use of any substances.

I remember driving down the rock road that leads to my friend’s house when I was 7 or 8 years old. I always thought I was somehow related to “Mowgli”, and I was living in my own jungle book. That’s probably just because I watched that movie 3 times a week until I was 12 years old.  My imagination was so free at that age that I wasn’t even aware of the universe I was creating in the woods flying by me. It just existed. That’s the beauty of being a kid; things can just exist. From fantasies, to invisible friends to opinions, it all can just exist. You question nothing yet you question everything, but time is not wasted on being critical or judgemental. Think about how much more creative we would be as adults if we stopped expending so much energy on criticism! Anyways, driving down that road reminded me of how small and free I felt then, and how important it is to still see our place on this planet for what it is. That in itself is liberating.