As Easter passes, I have, and I’m sure most of you have thought, “how underwhelming.” As a kid I was always so excited for the Easter bunny to come. I was excited to go running around the house frantically looking for baskets full of sweets and eggs filled with quarters. As I got older, all the joy disappears and the excitement fades. How does this happen? Why do we let this happen?

It is no secret that kids get bored of these holidays and the over exaggeration of the myths included. But as we get over that stage and we mature, sometimes we miss the haunted houses in garages and the excitement of opening presents at 7 am. As a kid, our favorite part of Halloween was dressing up and taking the biggest candy bar out of the bowl. Nowadays it is rare that you find a teenager dressed up for Halloween, let alone eating candy (because they’re probably on some sort of vegan health kick.) No one sees the importance of friendship and REAL fun.

During Christmas, kids would run downstairs at 7 am to see everything Santa left for them. They would be jumping out of their clothes to find any reindeer foot prints on their porch. Getting a teenager out of bed on a weekend is hard enough, doing it on their break from school is just a sin apparently. No one wants to get bundled up to have snow fights anymore or make forts. Teenagers just what to argue with their parents about “why can’t I drive, the roads aren’t even that bad.”

Even the Fourth of July isn’t as fun as it used to be. There are no more water balloon fights in the afternoon between the neighborhood families or backyard picnics. There are no more kids who want to lay out a big blanket on the highest hill their family can find to watch the fireworks. It is all about how much red, white and blue can the girls wear to look good enough in their Instagram post.

Yes, this article might be down in the dumps, but I hope it sheds some light on what was and what could still be. Get rid of the obsessions over social media and get OUTSIDE. The sun is shining and waiting to be soaked up by everyone’s skin.