Can you ever truly stop wishing you were a child again?

Yes, there are pros and cons to every stage of life. Focus your attention where it needs to be.

>>18500166
what are the cons of being 21?

>>18500189
being too young to be considered by society as a seasoned and refined individual because they assume those in this age bracket lack experience but also too old to be a whimsical innocent child

>>18500082
Like everything in life, you get over it with time.

I have never wished to be a child again. I am not nostalgic for my childhood. Being a child was shit.

My life is still shit, but at least when you're an adult, there is a little bit you can do about it. When you get shit on as a kid, you just have to accept it.

>>18500189
>rampant insecurity
>lots of opportunities but not nearly enough life experience and social skills to make the most of it
>lots of people struggling with their identity and how to maintain romantic relationships and/or friendships, for many people this is a stage in life where they start to realize that some/most of their issues are their own fault

Oscar Wilde's "youth is wasted on the young" isn't a classic for nothing. That's kind of the curse. Many people never look better and are never more free (both in terms of lack of responsibility/commitment and no physical or health-related impairments) than at this age, yet you are chained by self-doubt and wanting to fit in.

Also I for one hated being a child despite having had a largely happy childhood. Fuck people telling you what to do all. the. time. Having a mind racing full of thoughts you want to explore and stuff you want to act out but being stuck in school with mind numbing boredom until most of the perfectly good day is gone. Not to mention I have never felt terror in adult life like the kind I could feel as a child after getting all riled up over some twisted shadow.

It's easy to romanticize the past. Also when people say "back then my problems were easy" etc... that's kind of the point, you didn't experience them as easy back then, you sincerely thought that the world was falling apart because of whatever minor inconvenience.