A. My Play History

Since we're exploring a lot of our childhood on this project, some images that often come to mind are me riding with my cousins (during the summer) up to the corner market to get some sort of candy and a Yoo-Hoo and going back to their house to play outside. I also think of the annual trip to Panama City, FL (a 7 hour drive) and me sitting in the back with (you guessed it) candy and a Yoo-Hoo and later a Gameboy Color to keep me occupied. I also think of in the fall when at after school daycare we'd play outside on this hill, Hide-&-Seek until it got dark. I think I love these moments because they we're tied closely to the seasons and they involved me doing traveling or exploring (at least the first two). With these images it seemed like I had all of the time in the world and nothing to care about except getting tagged or getting a game over. It was a time when I wasn't scared of anything and the people I was with always seemed happy and picture perfect. For me this memories mark a period of innocence and happiness that stemmed from simultaneously from the familiar and the unknown. The familiar was always the location and the unknown was anything in my head. I think I often find myself fascinated and thinking about (as cliche as it is) an innocence lost and trying to still find some wonder in adulthood that was so carefree as a child. Everyone had a certain understanding of each other (a bright and cheery one) and the worst you could do was hit someone at recess (but they were fine by the end of it) and you continued on like nothing happened. As we get older, we seem to do horrible things to each other that are hard to forget and it seems like anyone could be around the corner lying in wait. I'm interested in ways to find this fantasy again and not feel so jaded without just trying a blind eye to caution and danger. I think just falling in love with discovery all over and quit pretending like everything is final, decided, and ending.