Escaping the Stress of Adulthood with Some Nostalgic Cartoon Games! 

My Childhood was a Bit Meh

Are you guys also those who felt like you didn’t have a childhood because you put your studies first? Instead of playing with kids outside on the streets, I was locked in the house with only the comfort of cartoons when I actually got a break from studying. 

As someone who grew up in the early 2000s, my comfort shows were from Nickelodeon like SpongeBob Square Pants, Fairly Odd Parents, and Avatar: The Last Air Bender. Being that my childhood was so boring and uneventful, I would imagine what would happen if I inserted myself into the world of cartoon characters. The two-dimensional creatures would be my friends and we’d go on adventures together that would conveniently end in 10-20 minutes with either a valuable lesson or just a good time. I’d be Timmy Turner‘s friend who secretly had his own fairy godparent. I would wish for insane things like 100 trillion dollars and world peace.  

Adulthood Sucks

Now, I’m a full-grown adult with responsibilities, bills to pay, an immeasurable amount of stress at work, and no time for myself. My job has completely taken over my life to the point that it’s always on my mind. Instead of sleeping early, I’m kept up at night worrying about deadlines, projects, presentations, and process transitions. I can’t turn my brain off because it’s always running and producing ideas that I want to work on right away.  

A little secret about the corporate world is that if you do more than your job description, management will give you more. If they see that you’re smart, talented, and have potential, a heavier workload will land on your desk. I keep working hard and chasing career growth and success that I no longer enjoy the life I’ve been working so hard for. Yes, you do deserve that promotion, career advancement, or success that you want so bad, but your well-being is also important.  

If only I lived in Nickelodeon’s world where Fairly Odd Parents existed, I’d have my 100 trillion dollars and not have to work a day in my life! But, it’s more than that… I honestly think that I would still like to do my job, even if it’s exhausting and my salary cannot support the lifestyle I’ve grown accustomed to. I don’t want to quit my job. I just have to learn to take breaks more frequently and draw the line between my work life and personal life.  

Wanting to be a Kid Again

I want to get to escape the life I have now and turn off my brain during the times that I shouldn’t have to use it. I’ve recently been watching cartoons. I know it’s weird for a 25-year-old to be watching cartoons made for 7 to 10-year-olds and find them enjoyable. But honestly, I would recommend you guys to watch some of the cartoons that I’ve finished like Steven Universe, Loud House, and SHERA and the Princess of Power. I surprisingly find the writing behind these cartoons to be better than a lot of the big production movies I’ve seen lately. 

I feel my inner child calling out to me, wanting to play. I’m not sure if you guys remember that our favorite cartoon channel used to have their own websites and have numerous games there themed after their shows. My siblings and I used to fight over the computer to take turns playing these games. The internet then would be so bad that we’d have to be really patient to wait for the pages to load just to play. And it’s weird because I always wanted to know whatever happened to those old games.  

Playing Cartoon Games as a Full-Grown Adult

Funny how I saw a couple of these cartoon-themed games on this website: https://plays.org/ and I can play them all for FREE! And not only that, there are over 1000 games in there. It’s like I’m always discovering a new game to play every day. These games are definitely the ones that we enjoyed growing up that were totally not complicated at all. We can just turn off our brains and enjoy ourselves for hours.  

I’d like to share with you guys a couple of games that I tried. I kind of play these games when I feel like my brain is about to explode from the stress of work and adulthood!

The Fairly Odd Squad Game 

This is a jumping game where you collect stars and avoid the evil babysitter-robot, Vicky. The goal of this game is to help Timmy get to the very top to retrieve Cosmo’s stolen want before the baby enemy, Foop uses it to cause chaos!

This was a very simple game, but I found it really challenging because I kept falling before I get to land on the next branch. I’d have to start over from the bottom because my lives are limited! I have yet to reach the top of the tree. Lot’s more practicing to do!

Ben 10 Alien Rivals Game 

I always love a fighting game, especially this one because I get to choose which alien I get to play with. I’ve always wanted to transform into my favorite aliens and go head to head with the enemy.

I started battling with Heatblast. His attacks are totally awesome. But the more you play, the more aliens you unlock! I’m curious to see how the other aliens will perform in a battle!

Tom & Jerry Cheese Swipe

This is probably my favorite game among those I’ve tried! It’s a running game you have to collect cheese bits by running and avoid some kitchen items that may cause you to trip! This is literally what a Tom & Jerry Show is! Hahaha. If you stumble, Tom gets closer and closer to grabbing you and having you for dinner. Though, I don’t think we’ve seen Tom actually digest Jerry in the TV before!

As simple as this game sounds, I actually spend hours on this game just jumping and collecting cheeses. It was mindless and so blissfully satisfying!

Loud House Character Quiz Game 

I fell in love with Loud House even if it was a cartoon that was released when I was already past my teenage years. I really resonated with the big family and find the variety of personalities of Lincoln’s 10 sisters interesting. Of course, I wanted to know which Loud House character I was!

And can you believe the odds that even with the 10 sister options, I still landed with Lincoln? It was such a surprise on my end. I figured my feminine side would show, but apparently, I’m just another smart-ass 11-year-old boy. But the game said so, so it must be true! Haha.

Oldies, it’s Okay to Take a Break!

I just want to let you guys know that it’s okay to take a break from time to time. It’s okay to say no when it’s already outside office hours. When you’re no longer being paid to do the work you’re doing, stop. Work during the time when you are being paid. Our work never really finishes, we just continue it when we log in to work the next day.

 
Do things that relax you and calm you down. Relive your childhood and heal those wounds by treating yourself and doing all of the things you always wanted to do as a child.  We’ve got a lot of life ahead of us and we’re supposed to enjoy the life we’ve been working so hard for. There are a lot of games out there so go ahead and choose which ones you’ll play.  Have fun!

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