The perks of being a grown-up

There comes a time in our childhood when we start to imagine what it would be like if we were adults. As little kids, we look up to them, thinking how much freedom they have - the freedom to wear all the clothes they want, to stay up late or handle all those dangerous tools we cannot even touch. Meet Felix, my 5-year-old cousin, who is also part of this category. He started talking about growing up a few months ago, telling me about his dream jobs, like becoming an astronaut or an ice-cream vendor. I began to watch his manhood wishes closely, paying attention to his actions and gestures when he tried to imitate an adult being. First, there was his "outrageous" desire to stop dressing up according to the weather every single morning. So we went out in the courtyard on a sunny day, a perfect day to walk barefoot in the pile of sand. There I saw a little boy rejoicing over the shining sun, thinking that this must be what an adult's life feels like. Another day he took his father's coat and asked me to take photos and make a film of him. He tried to act serious, but he couldn't find any fancy pants, so he put on his sister's striped tights. Felix always tries to interfere with the adults' talks and activities; he wants to add sugar to the batter, mow the lawn or hang the washing out. But he is instantly drawn back to his own world, a world without real fears, anxieties and day-to-day chores. I believe it will take him some time until he stops dreaming about adulthood. And it will take me some time, too, until I stop dreaming about being a little child again.

I am a 24-year-old visual artist and freelance photographer living in Bucharest, Romania, constantly looking for new ways to nurture self-expression. The roots of my love for art is to be found in my childhood and adolescence, when I engaged with painting, illustration, music and writing. At the age of 13 I irrecuperably fell for photography, whilst browsing online and coming across the works of both Magnum photographers and young visual artists, whom I felt inspired by. My interests concerning photography gravitate around having a fine art approach to each genre I focus on, from portraiture t