Up to a certain age, “Toy Story” was more documentary than fantasy for me.
Action figures and stuffed animals having lives and adventures of their own while not under the watchful eyes of their owners made perfect sense to me. Through the lens of my seven-year-old brain, my beloved playthings were as alive and real as any of my friends at school. And yet there comes a time for everyone when imagination dies: when the toys must be packed away in dusty boxes and the fantasies must be saved for sleepy nights.
At a certain point, whether that be in middle school, high school, or even college, you start to realize that toys are no longer something you can show off to your friends. You start being a little embarrassed and rather ashamed to play with childhood toys. To truly grow up, one must outgrow their adolescence.
But I’ve always wondered, why? Why can’t we have both? Why can’t we have the toys and the silliness and the awe along with the responsibility and the growth and the coming-of-age?
In a society that promotes work over dreams, it’s more important than ever to keep your inner child safe. It’s genuinely a little appalling how many people feel ashamed to feel immature. There’s nothing wrong with taking a dip in the past every now and then. That could be unearthing childhood toys, revisiting the movies you watched as a kid, or just letting yourself fall into an elaborate daydream; reliving one’s childhood is not only cathartic but good old-fashioned fun.
To quote Benjamin Franklin, “We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!”
As we dive into 2025, don’t let this be the year you stop playing.
Editor’s Note: Benjamin Franklin was born on Sunday, January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts. Celebrate the 319th anniversary of his birth this month!