If you had the chance, would you jump into a time machine back to your childhood? If you are like me, you will surely, and not for any reason related to escaping obligations. However, it must be very nice to not worry about careers and payment management as a kid. With less than two weeks left of college, I will reflect on the biggest choices I have made. Should I have returned that fidget spinner in grade six? Now, that was not my biggest dilemma as a kid, but I have found it surprising how trends tend to resurface with every new generation.
I work part-time as an after-school teacher throughout the week, and I have learned a lot about the kids I supervise. For one, some trends remain strong like Pokémon and Beyblade. I remember playing with Beyblades when I was ten years old, but it is so cool to see kids still bring toys like that. It is an age check for me, despite being told that I was very young by one of the kids at afterschool.
One of the fun aspects of being an after-school teacher is helping with homework. I, for one, would prefer to go back to the time when math was only numbers, and getting to look at students’ math homework on decimals just gives me a break. I even bet that they do not have to worry about scheduling their classes for next year.
It is not only the homework but also the playtime at afterschool that I can be part of. There is a variety of games to engage in, from playing redlight-greenlight to blob tag. There are also games that I do not remember existing when I was a kid. There are new variances of tag, a lava monster game, and a night-at-the-museum. If the physical games were not popular, then our afterschool kids had the option to draw in the art corner. I have done origami when the days were less busy, with my favorite creation being the classic paper ninja stars.
I had many fun moments in afterschool, and I half-expected a longer time for the students to accept me being the new counselor. However, I got to express myself as a friend, and quickly got to be the person they would go to for games. I was given the role of being the tagger, horsey, and lava monster among all other things.
Of course, I would only offer to help in the students’ playtime if they got my name correct. I do go by one of many names at afterschool, and I find it funny how many different nicknames they can come up with for me. One day, I would be Mr. Dustin, and then the next, I would be called Mr. Ketchup. Yes, I like ketchup, but I would not be the teacher to store large buckets of ketchup in my fridge.
So, if you were to create a time machine and offer me a pass directly back to my childhood, it would have me thinking for a long time. Yes, I would like to experience my childhood again and do another rerun of Super Mario 64, but I think that my standing this year allows me to both cherish the adulting moments and the fun inner child moments that I still have.
