When I was younger I always slept with my door open. Not completely open, just ajar, so I could see the light from the hallway. The light would give me comfort and ease the night fears I had. Naturally, throughout the years, I have learned to sleep with my door closed. I always have to fall asleep with the door closed, my ceiling fan on medium, and the security alarm lights outside my window off. I like the darkness, and that’s what I need to fall asleep. Also I keep it closed for privacy. Even though these are little things, it is the little things that count in life. My transition of how far my door has been open when I sleep might not seem significant, but it really is for anyone if you look deeper.

When we are children we live in a world we don’t know, and basically any door is open for us. We can be an astronaut, a doctor, a movie star, or even the president. Our opportunities are limitless. We live in a care free world mostly without any worries. As a child you have so much time ahead of you, a whole life to make mistakes and learn to become who you want to be. The limits of childhood are infinite. Your future is a cloudy crystal ball that holds mystery and amusement. You always dream what your life will be like, and imagine yourself as a cool adult. You wonder how many kids you will have, what your significant other will be like, the fantasy of your wedding, or other things along those lines. I think that’s what makes being a kid so enjoyable, the freedom of not having to care. Of course when you were a child, you had ‘problems’ and ‘stress’, but looking back now they were completely meaningless , and you probably forgot about that in five minutes. That great thing about childhood is that you are usually less reserved and don’t have any inhibitions to hold you back in your thinking. Childhood is like a soaring bird, or kite floating in the wind, the essence of freedom. Your door was open.

As you became more mature and life started to happen. The doors start to close. Now there is not enough wind to fly your kite , or maybe the wing has broken on a bird making it not able to fly - that is adulthood. As you become who you are and the person you are today, you learn you don’t have as many options as you think. Your life starts to narrow down a maze that only has one end, and the path becomes narrower where as in childhood you were running in a open spring field. There are now closures, detours, barriers, and traffic to get yourself where you want to be. Sometimes you might never get to the location of your final destination. The opportunities start to decrease, and you see your life planned out ahead of you, the crystal ball is now crystal clear, and you might or might not like your future. And that is the worst part of adulthood. You close yourself off to new things that you might like or even love, because the freedom of opporturnities you once have are gone. Risks become too dangerous and not worth it , and safety and comfort seem better in a world where you have to pay taxes, make deadlines , and raise other people. You shut the door to experiences and adventures, you can take but won’t You shut the door, because you know the dreams you once had for the long life you were going to live, have died and will never be possible. Might as well lock it because, what’s the point of having disappointment? It’s sad.

There is a way to happiness though, you just have to get out of bed, and open your door to the world you want, and the one you wish for when you were a child. You can have your dreams and be successful, but you can’t do that by shutting doors and shutting out opportunities. To achieve true happiness, you have to take what’s blocking you to it. Opening yourself up to love, friendship , family and hope might be the best thing. Sometimes, in life taking those risks and going down the dangerous thorn filled path , is the only way to your true happiness and self fulfillment. You have might even have to walk out the door to get what you want. If you do, there is no way for anything to come in or out, you are a stalemate. Even though having an open door is scary and risky, it’s worth it.

So sometimes in life , sleep with the door open and don’t shut out the good. Be a child , and be open.