Rent, readings and resumes, budgets, booze and slow busses - classic aspects of a UNSW student’s life. Many of these were absent from our lives or, at least less prominent during childhood.
So, amidst the Binge drinking, industrial amounts of coffee and hungover lectures (but let’s be frank, hangovers and missed lectures) here are an assortment of childish antics you can do as an adult without the guilt often associated with typical university pastimes.
1. Let your freak flag fly
Reignite your unapologetically maximalist childhood creativity and embrace all things colour, glitter and stickers. Have your mates over for a children’s art renaissance spanning from finger painting to face painting to potato decorating. Gift a loved one with a hand made piece of pasta jewellery or portrait done with a crayon. It can be as simple as providing some paper and a few biros or heading to a wine and paint session in Newtown or Surry Hills. It cannot be guaranteed that excessive consumption of wine will lead to a guilt free wake up the next day but, it is likely to be a carefree and enjoyable evening.
2. Go trampolining
Whether it was crack the egg or a bounce battle, trampolines generally represent summers of laughter and the occasional stitch. Bring back this old pastime by heading to Sky Zone after uni or hitting up a mate or family member who has one of these kid havens. You can get your heart rate up and if you head to a trampoline park you’ll get the added bonus of chic, flamboyant friction socks.
3. Bake a cake and eat it too
Whether you make a seven tier cake worthy of being photographed in a bridal magazine or a humble Betty Crocker packet mix, heck, even if you buy a Woollies chocolate mud cake and stick some Malteasers on the top – it’s still cake, and kids love cake. Provided you don’t subject somebody to Bruce Bogtrotter levels of forced cake consumption (yourself included) in my eyes, almost anything to do with cake should be guilt free. In fact, the only thing to be guilty of would be failing to lick the spoon at the end.
4. Head to the sea
Mother nature’s water park: free to frolic through and a damn good time whether you’re body surfing, boogie boarding, sun baking or just floating. Some beaches, such as Clovelly are relatively calm and suitable to snorkel in and see sea flora and fauna and of course the well known Clovelly blue groper. To truly reminisce on childhood beach attire you can slide on some goggles, slip on a rashi, accessorise with a towel poncho and stand out with rainbow zinc – own it, you’ll look fabulous and be well equipped for a snorkel.
A final conglomeration of low guilt, high enjoyment childlike things to do include: puzzles, totem tennis, making obstacle courses, riding a bike, making up a dance, playing dress ups, going to the park, Lego and games nights; think snap, Uno, Charades and Monopoly. However, try to avoid the guilt that will ensue from severing or endangering any friendships during intense Uno showdowns.
