What childhood/adolescent things did you just never grow out of?

[mreilly]

When I was a kid I guess I thought adults magically transformed into different people when they got old enough to become "mature." However, now that I'm 36 I've found that while many of my characteristics are far different then thirty years ago some other aspects of personality change at a glacial pace, if at all. It's funny to me to see how many of the things I liked or habits I had as a kid have remained over all the years:

-I still like sugary breakfast cereals and eat them shamelessly with my 3 kids (went so far as to request Lucky Charms of my wife today...)

-I still listen to the same music as when I was a teenager (the Cure, the Doors, etc.). Some stuff I've left behind, musically speaking, but the other stuff I don't think I'd ever get tired of. Seems weird to think I'll be 85 years old and still like the explosive finish to "Stairway to Heaven."

-If I watch a horror movie at night I still avoid going up to bed in the dark. Similarly, if I see something bad happen to a character in a fictional movie I feel bad for that character, despite the logical part of my brain reminding me that it's just an actor on a set, making a living.

-I was always a big animal lover and to this day feel bad about getting rid of stuffed animals, animal-related toys, or even something with a picture of an animal on it. I don't even know why; some part of me as a kid must have felt bad that the stuffed dog or calendar with the friendly cats on it would wind up incinerated in some landfill.

-I still like amusement park rides and games.

What about you; what things did you never think you'd still do (or even do gladly) as a grownup?

[KitchenWitch]

1. Roller coasters - I am totally addicted to roller coasters.

[nomorenomore08]

23. Seconded! I haven't gotten the chance to ride any in a few years, but I'm still very much interested

I remember riding Space Mountain at Disneyland when I was about 6, and thinking it was the greatest thing ever.

[TZ]

25. Me too.

When I was at MOA I wanted sooo bad to go on one of those coasters...

[Chan790]

2. Are we talking "normal" childhood things or my childhood things?

Because my mother accused me of being a 40-year-old neurotic when I was six.

In that vein:

reading
obsessing over when the Soviets are going to nuke us
stealing hubcaps
jumping off things on my bike
eating pizza for breakfast and skittles for dinner
food fights (I work in a Starbucks...we throw things when you're not around to see us.)

[Forkboy]

3. Well, I still love Godzilla movies.

And I'm 40.

And I could watch hours of Daffy Duck cartoons were they still on.

I'm also still partial to moshpits, though it takes a little longer to heal now.

[flvegan]

4. I still like to play outside.

Be it the dog park with one of the kids, game of softball, mountain biking or snowboarding (which I remind myself I haven't done in forever), I like being active outside.

Cocoa Crispies and Frosted Flakes.

Still a speed freak. I used to rocket down my long hill of a driveway on my Big Wheel, turning at the last minute and spinning out. I don't do the "dangerous" part of it any more, but I still like to just go really fast (in a controlled enivironment, of course, never via breaking the law or anything. No, really. What?).

I've always been an animal lover.

[BarenakedLady]

5. I love stuffed animals

I should take a pic of my computer and bed. LoL. I have a bunch of stuffed chimps/monkeys.

I still rebel against authority.

I love horror movies.

I sometimes like to read young adult books (mostly fantasy).

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. I love stuffed animals too...

Thank goodness my kid does too!

[Deep13]

6. What is the "out grow" you speak of?

[abq e streeter]

7. The Three Stooges

[WinkyDink]

8. Besides everything? Blowing bubbles, putting maple-pods on my nose, jumping into leaf-piles,

collecting stuffed animals, skipping, whistling, and wondering what I'll be when I grow up.

[wickerwoman]

9. Still have monsters under my bed...

I hate walking bare-ankled past low overhangs in the dark because I know something is going to grab me.

In my closet, grunge is still God.

I'll still occasionally blow off work when a new computer game comes out...

And, most embarrassingly of all, I would still play D&D if I could find a good group.

[grannylib]

10. I still love blowing bubbles, playing frisbee, the same classic rock

I listened to as a kid, camping in a tent (it's the only way to go!), being outside in the rain (as long as it's warm! I hate being cold) and splashing in puddles, and even at just-celebrated-the-20th-anniversary-of-my-29th-birthday, I still get excited about my birthday and hope that someone will think to ensure that there is cake *lol*

[Reverend_Smitty]

11. Honestly I think it would be easier to list the "adult" things about me...

it would be a much shorter list

My life's motto: Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional

[BlueIris]

12. Early Disney, mint chocolate chip ice cream and kittehs. nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. Manners, being kind, helping others, play time; plus, monster movies, science fiction, Sprees.

[YankeyMCC]

14. Entertainment

that is where I haven't changed or at least where I still hold onto the most from my childhood. I've added a lot to what I consider entertainment but I still like much of the same music and find comfort in watching old TV shows and movies from that time.

[IronLionZion]

15. ice cream and children's movies!!!

I've taken a woman out on a date to see Shrek 3 and then brought her back to my place for some adult fun. Ice cream was involved!

[pokerfan]

16. Legos

[TZ]

24. There are some serious Lego people on this board

Who have created some really elaborate Lego structures.....

[pokerfan]

33. Yeah, several years ago the local Toys R Us

was closing out their line K-Nex blocks for about ten cents on the dollar. Went down there and blew about $100 for my nephews. When I saw how cool they were, I went back and bought a bunch for myself.

That's the best part about being a 48 year old child. You can buy all the toys you didn't get enough of as a kid.

[ceile]

17. I guess there's a couple of things.

I still wear cut-offs and jeans w/ holes in them.
I listen to the same music (listening to Catherine Wheel circa 1991 right now).
I still wear concert t-shirts (my Sonic Youth and Judybats shirts have a few holes, but I don't care).
Still watch "Murder, She Wrote".
I still like all things Japanese.
Still like to dye my hair purple every now and then.

[lost-in-nj]

18. I like to color

I like amusement park rides and games to
I LOVE Lucky Charms

and
I like to watch kids movies.....

especially the animated ones



lost

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Waterslides and diving boards. Baseball games. Reading the comics.

I loved going down the waterslide at Atlantis in the Bahamas.

And when I was at Wakulla Springs near Tallahassee, I kept on going off the high dive there the entire day.

I also don't think there is anything that can beat going to a baseball game and cheering your heart out, no matter how stupid you look.

And I still like to read the comic strips in the daily newspaper. Even the ultra-cheesy ones like Family Circus.

[Orsino]

21. Comics. D&D.

I lost interest in the superhero comics I occasionally read as a kid. As an adult, I discovered graphic novels. In between, I never stopped reading the funnies...or playing D&D.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

22. Cartoons

I never really grew out of cartoons and still enjoy watching them to this day (mostly newer Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon shows) and I am still a devoted fan of older cartoons such as Transformers G1, Voltron, and Robotech. I also still love all of the movies, animated or otherwise, that I loved when I was a kid and actually appreciate them even more because I understand them a lot better as an adult and I keep picking up on different things that I didn't notice as a kid. There are some movies that I loved as a kid that have yet to see the light of day on DVD that I desperately want to see again such as the "Unico" movies that I haven't seen for a LONG time.

[nomorenomore08]

26. I still eat "kid" cereals (Captain Crunch, etc.), all my favorite TV shows

are cartoons ("Simpsons," "Family Guy," etc.), I'm still fascinated with things like astronomy and wild animals (esp. large carnivorous ones), I still occasionally sleep with a light on (to ward off bad dreams), and I still retain, and am trying to live out, my childhood dream of being a writer.

[Karenina]

27. Pretending the sidewalk curb

is a balance beam. The stuffed animals my kids gave me... MY TOYS!

[kineneb]

28. grow out of? huh?

I am my inner child. It is so much more fun than being a "grown up."

Talk to me about my stuffed animal collection.

I still like rock from the 60s and 70s. Or to quote The Byrds: "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."

[Sequoia]

29. Skippping with glee.

Sad cartoons. Animated Christmas shows...Rudolph, Charlie Brown...reading children's books.

[martymar64]

30. I still love horror movies

Their usually the only movies I'll go to a theater to see.

[Joey Liberal]

31. The 3 Stooges

Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk!

[fizzgig]

32. this is what my entertainment center looks like

i still love sugary cereal (i've got some golden grahams in the kitchen). i love to run through the sprinkler. i still sleep with my teddy bear from time to time.

i don't think i'll ever completely 'grow up'

[Shakespeare]

34. All the old animated Christmas specials (and a few movies, too)

In fact, you probably want to just avoid me in general between November 1 - January 1 if you're a scrooge.

Also a sucker for Cocoa Puffs, slip-n-slides, and bugs bunny cartoons.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

35. Play Doh

Not the molds and the toys, just the doh.

[Lil Missy]

36. One adolescent habit that only haunts me in dreams or nightmares.

I used to suck my thumb as a child. I quit when my step-father took a picture of me sucking my thumb and humiliated me by assuring me he'd share the picture with all my schoolmates and family. I was 5 years old. And I did quit.

45 years later, I still have vivid dreams that I am still sucking my thumb. And feeling embarrassed about it. I'm sure glad it's just a dream! Cause it tastes like shit now! Yuk!

[Aristus]

37. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I still think peanut butter is the food of the gods...