Keeping Your Childhood Alive

No matter how old I get, there are still parts of my so-called childhood that I simply cannot leave behind. Elements that continue to evolve and I maintain my interest.

Lego, Harry Potter and Pokémon are the top three that spring to mind here. I continue to purchase the Pokémon games and trading cards, I read the harry potter books, engage with the films and buy the games. Lego is purchased for me and offered via a friend on my birthday. I do not need to find Lego but when it finds me I am very happy.

All three of these elements are considered childish and yet I cannot get enough. I love being able to switch off from the adult version of me to be able to go back in time and say, hey 'today I do not care about paying bills, I merely wish to remember what it is like to imagine and not have any worries in this world'.

What is Childhood For?

Childhood is precious. A time of life when you are exploring, figuring out who you are and what you enjoy. Not in the serious, I need to define my career path now, more in the...

• Am I creative?
• Am I athletic?
• What types of friends do I wish to have? 

it makes me sad to consider that many adults steal that time away from children. Whether through excess pressure for study, abuse or neglect, they all lead to lost time for these children as once they reach adulthood, the pressures mount. You have to work in order to support yourself and whilst you still want to relax, the opportunity to do so reduces every year. 

Nowadays I am happy with twenty minutes to relax, whereas back then I could spend days having no cares in the world, simply enjoying the fact that I could imagine other worlds through the stories I read or created. It was amazing and it is a time that should be cherished. As adults, we look at the young and sigh because we see them as lazy but really we should be encouraging them to explore.

Lego

I loved Lego growing up. Having a box of random blocks from different kits to let my imagination go. None of it matched and rarely did I create anything more than a blob or a thing but I was happy, very happy and this is something that we can forget about as adults. 

The simplest consideration can also be the greatest, whereas we end up getting lost in our thoughts, or even worse through scrolling through our phones. The joy of saving up to buy a book or enjoy a pack of penny sweets has been lost and it's high time that we got it back in my opinion. 

I love the fact that one of my friends buys me a Lego kit every year. For my birthday, without fail, he will provide me with an imagination generator. A lot to let my hair down with and it is fantastic.

Even though it is a defined concept such as Harry Potter or Star Wars it is still something in my day that can push me out of routine and shout through the distance to say, stop. Take five minutes and stop worrying about things that are out of your control.

Harry Potter

I'm not going to comment on the complex issues that surround J.K. Rowling at the moment as that is not the purpose of this entry. This set of writing is to talk about our childhood and what the key elements mean to us and why they never stop being important.

Harry Potter followed me through primary school to secondary school, concluding at university. It grew up with me and provided me with a set of heroes and heroines that were as confused about life as I was. Relationships, money and study, it was great and each time a new book came out I would make the point of reading all the old ones to ensure that I was fully up to date. it was great.

Whilst there are no more main entries to the series, there has been a play, The Fantastic Beasts series and now, Hogwarts Legacy. The series continues to innovate and as it formed such a draw in my childhood, I continue to engage. I love it. I love delving back into the characters as it brings me back to those simpler times when things were less complex.

Pokémon

My favourite of all. Pokémon grabbed me very early on in life and whilst the series has evolved, with many missteps such as the latest game, Violet, there is still much love there for me.

The trading card game is much more complex but a friend and I still dabble. We sell it to our other halves as an investment but really it's continuing to draw upon a treasured child memory and one that can continue to connect us, even after adult life has kicked in.

I play the games as I love the thought of collecting all of these creatures and doing so now in an open world. It was relaxing then and it is relaxing today. It's not perfect but I can forgive the imperfections as it still offers me a window into my childhood.

I will never catch em all as I do not have the time but I am so looking forward to sharing my love of the games and the trading cards with my children. Passing on something that helped define who I am in the hopes that it will provide them with some form of connection to their life and what they are seeking out.

Pokémon is something that has endured, makes millions every year and even as an adult, draws me in, yet whenever I try to bring the new creatures to my heart, something always seems missing and I have yet to move away from this love and why should I?

A Final Thought

Our childhoods cement our lives. They provide the foundations by which we build our identities. They are essential to our well-being as they guide us through the years to the point where we step off this mortal coil.

Our childhoods are the best parts of our lives, as they are the most carefree. We are free to explore the world around us, make mistakes and move forward with that which we call our day. There is little to no pressure upon you at this time, where you are free to develop and grow.

I love the memories of my childhood. From the long evenings in which I used to stare at my old Gameboy screen, playing Pokemon to playing Lego at the weekends and reading more books than I can remember. Even writing this now, I smile, as my childhood has made me who I am.

I still engage in many of those areas of my life to this day. Pokemon, Lego, Harry Potter and much more. I still love these concepts and yes, they are considered to be childish but I do not care, as they help me to remember the simpler times in my life.