Moved up from the archives
The Sunlit Childhood
Challenge!
Buried somewhere deep in our psyches are those sweet, sunlit memories of early
childhood. But as we grow up, these memories recede into obscurity or may be
forgotten altogether. Hopefully before these experiences fade away completely,
you will take this opportunity to rescue some of them and write them down.
- My favorite toy was: As a toddler I had this small stuffed bunny toy.
I took it everywhere. My parents have told me that “nukkepupu” (dollybunny)
was one of my first words. - Some other great toys
I had were: Legos. I
wasn’t very creative with them but I got pretty good at building laser
guns out of them.
- A toy I wanted to have
but didn’t was: A Cabbage
Patch Doll. I never got one. When I would’ve been able to get one, I no
longer wanted one. But I still think they’re kind of cute. - A story/book I loved
to be told/read was: I really
liked the story of “Sleeping Beauty” (the Disney version). I liked it so
much that I actually memorized the story word for word and was able to “read”
to my little sister even before I could actually read. (I didn’t learn to
read until I went to school at age of 7. - A movie I loved was: I can’t recall any single movie that was
more favorite than the next one. - A song I liked singing
was: I don’t remember singing
all that much. If I sang something it was probably some common children’s
song. - A smell I liked was: Gingerbreak cookies, cinnamon.
- An object that made me
feel secure was: My teddy
bear. - A memorable
birthday/holiday experience I had was: I really don’t have any – or I’ve
completely forgotten about them. - I had a
friend, and his/her name was: The funny thing is that I never
really had a best friend as a kid. But there were these siblings, Tupu and
Pepe with whom I would play the most – until they moved. - My friend and I did
this activity together: The usual
children’s games. - My favorite place to
play was: I used to
love this little forest that was right next to where we lived. I used to
just wander around, or run the paths. - A place my family took
me to visit was: Särkänniemi Amusement
Park in Tampere.
It’s still one my favorite fun places in Finland. - My favorite outdoor
activity was: Just
being out there, biking, wandering in the aforementioned forest - My favorite activity
on the playground was: Swings.
I still like swings. And playgrounds. - Something I did that
my parents thought was silly was: I have no idea. - Something I did that
my parents approved of was: Sports. - Something I did that I
got in trouble for was: Doing
things I wasn’t supposed to, then lying about not doing those things and
later getting caught. - Something I was afraid
of was: Thunderstorms
and especially a lightning hitting the house and setting it to fire. - Something I believed
in was: I don’t
think I really believed in anything out of the ordinary. - Describe in a short
paragraph, your clearest memory of a happy
experience you had before you were 7 years old: I was spending yet another couple of weeks
of the summer at my paternal grandparents. My cousins and I found stilts, and I was delighted to learn to walk with them even better than my
cousins. - Describe in a short
paragraph, your clearest memory of a frightening or sad experience you had
before you were 7 years old: Again, I was at my paternal granparents. There was a
thunderstorm that really freaked my out. I was so convinced that a
lightning was going to hit the house and everything would be burnt down that I
actually went to pack my things so that I could easily take them with if
something bad happened. I think that’s the most scared I’ve ever been –
even to this day. - Describe in a short
paragraph, another memory (could be anything) of an experience you had
before you were 7 years old that you remember clearly: I really can’t think of any other vivid
memory at this point. - Sometimes as adults,
we run into objects, smells, or places that bring back a bunch of
childhood memories in a rush. What, if anything, has that effect on you? I will let you know the next time something
triggers my memories. - And finally, describe
an object, place or experience you had as a child under the age of 7 that
you feel was good enough that you would like to “pass it on,” or give it
to another child for him or her to own, enjoy or experience: Actually, the thing I would like to share is not
that much related to certain age but to being a kid in general. It seems
that kids these days are in such a rush to grow up that they forget to be
kids and enjoy their childhood. Parents should also realize this and let
their kids to really enjoy childhood and teach them not to rush it. You’ve
got the rest of your life to be an adult – you’re kid only such a short
while.
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