A Trip Back to the Circus

When I was a child, my dad and I would do everything together. There was never a dull weekend and we would always seem to keep ourselves occupied with some crazy scheme. Some of my favorite weekend activities included playing softball outside, going to my favorite blue playground, and watching puppet shows at the beautiful Glenn Echo Park. While these are some of my most cherished memories, none could compare to the joy of visiting the circus. Every year in October, right around my birthday, the circus would come to town, and it became an annual tradition to attend. I remember walking towards the towering, red and white striped tent, ticket in hand, with my heart beating out of my chest in anticipation. The inside of the tent was the size of a stadium, filled with eager kids like me and their parents waiting for the lights to dim, the music to start, and the show to begin. The performances were always completely astounding. At my age, I could not begin to fathom how a man could bike ride across a tiny wire, or juggle flames and not get burned, or even command tigers to do whatever he pleased. The experience was incredible and magical. When we would leave, I would have the biggest smile on my face and ask when we could return. About a year ago, my dad and I saw that the circus was in town and decided to go back for old times’ sake. When I looked at the tent, it was not anything how I remembered. The enormous, glorious tent from my memories turned out to be much smaller and more average sized in real life. There was nothing particularly special about it. Walking inside provided even more disappointment. There were a few rows of seats that scaled the sides and stretched around the diameter of the tent, taking the shape more of a small boxing arena rather than a huge football stadium. But, I remained patient and decided to give the show a chance. Overall the performances were really enjoyable and fun to watch, but I still did not receive quite the same awe inspiring feeling as I left when I did as a child. Many people would say that’s just what happens as you grow up. As we are faced with more responsibilities in our daily lives, we feel forced to abandon our child-like innocence and wonder because we are told that there is no place for it in the real world. We are told that the world is a dark and scary place and that if you don’t grow up, you will get hurt. We are told that in order to survive, you need to be realistic, not imaginative, and that too much optimism is naïve. But the people who tell us this are simply wrong. Our world is as we wish it to be and we can shape it to reflect our views. Sure we need to be realistic and responsible, but that does not mean we can’t just stop and enjoy life every once and awhile. Letting your inner child out again allows us to be human and to see the world from a new, more open-minded perspective. No matter how old I get, I know I will continue to enjoy going to the circus because the memories cannot be replaced and will always stand the test of time.