Turn back the clock several years to when you were 7 years old. Do you remember what it was like to be so young and carefree? Most of us, probably not so much. So, I implore you to take a trip with me into the heart of Bloomington, Indiana, to let the life of a young Hoosier remind you of youthful bliss.

New Haircut!

Meet Evan: he’s your everyday 7-year-old boy with a crooked smile, a teasing-yet-loving older brother, a passion for sports and a very specific taste in hairstyle. You can find him around town, getting sweaty and having a good ol’ time. Evan was very eager to talk and tell stories when I found him with his father at The Ritz Barbershop on North Dunn Street, both of them getting haircuts.

Walking into The Ritz, anyone would have quickly spotted the grinning young towhead sitting on the pleather couch in the shop’s lounge, patiently waiting for his father to finish getting his hair cut, happily chatting with Judy Gavin, the lady who’s been his father’s hairstylist for 14 years. Everyone who knows this “towhead,” Evan, knows he has lots of funny stories to tell from school, and will do anything to get a laugh

Right now, Evan’s biggest concerns in life are baseball, birthday parties and being teased by his big brother, Nathan. Evan’s quite mature for his age, and he knows if he ignores his brother’s teasing, it’s like putting up a shield. Besides that, “(Nathan)’s going into middle school now, and I don’t think he will (tease me anymore), because he has his own worries.” Despite the teasing, Nathan has shown his love for Evan, by standing up for him whenever he gets bullied by bigger kids.

There was one particular time, at a classmate’s birthday party two years ago, when a fifth grader cornered 5-year-old Evan in the bouncy house, and wouldn’t get off of him. When Nathan found out what was going on, he “pulled the other kid off of me and threw him to the other side of the bouncy house.”

He also says, “It doesn’t matter if (Nathan) teases me,” because Evan knows his older brother loves him. With a proud smile painted across his face, the boys’ father said, “(Nathan’s) always looking out for his little brother.”

Like other young boys, Evan loves sports. He runs, he climbs, he plays basketball, and most importantly — he plays baseball. He someday wants to play it in the Major League, and when he can no longer do that, he’s very interested in entrepreneurship. Right now, however, he looks forward to entering the third grade in the fall, where he’ll be learning, “higher math, multiplying, dividing and fractions!”

The best advice that Evan can give anyone is, “You gotta treat others how you want to be treated. My parents taught me that.”

Although he’s only 7, Evan shows exemplary wisdom in the things he says. So next time you get bogged down by the stressful things of life, try remembering the ignorance, the bliss, the carefreeness, the importance of being (s)Evan.