What Do You Miss Most About Being Young?

Welcome to Question of the Day. It gives interns something to do!

Back in the day there was a golden, sepia sheen over everything. But get past 20, and the world looks like it’s caked in a veneer of human shit. What happened to pogs? Or playing in the park after school? Or big, gray Game Boys you could break the window of a DeLorean with? It’s all gone now. What do you miss most about being young?

Videos by VICE

VICE: What do you miss most about being young?
Peter, 64, artist:
Nothing, because the best is yet to come! It’s never too late to have a perfect childhood. It’s all yet to happen, I’m not missing it yet.

It might be too late for you.
Everything is the same and everything is different.

What does that mean?
You need to think it through, my friend.

Why are you wearing those glasses?
Why are you not wearing these glasses?

Because they look stupid.

VICE: What do you miss most about being young?
Amy, 24, trainee art teacher:
Generally being carefree.

What did you do when you were carefree?
I could run around doing things that I probably shouldn’t be doing without worrying about other people’s opinions.

What were you doing that you shouldn’t be?
Skipping school. I used to skip school and go stand in the Tate Modern for hours and hours and hours.

Yeah, same.

Amanda, 21, student: Having someone looking after me and feeding me.

Do you manage to feed yourself now?
Well, yeah, most of the time. It was nice having my parents feeding me proper food. Now I just eat chips.

Nikki, 23, sales assistant: Probably not caring about appearances, because when you’re younger, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Your mom dresses you and no one really cares because you’re just a little kid.

Do you care about your appearance now?
Yeah, of course. I think everyone does a little bit. I put effort into what I wear.

Thomas, 18, model: Nothing because you can’t really do much unless you’re 18.

So you don’t miss being young?
Not really, not any more.

Why is life better now you’re 18?
Alcohol, partying, going out, social life… yeah.

Can we exchange lives? I mean telephone numbers?
No.

Steve, 32, TV editor: I’m still young. 

Well when you were younger, then.
Cartoons.

Why?
Because cartoons on TV these days are shit, they’re not as good as they used to be.

What was your favorite cartoon?
It was Mysterious Cities of Gold.

Why don’t you like cartoons these days?
I don’t understand them.

Maybe you’re not young any more?
Yeah, totally.

Previously – What Would You Do if You Were Left Behind on the Titanic?