The good old days, when life was simple

If there’s one thing I really like about childhood, it’s the simplicity it brought me each day. I understand that with time, our lives become more complicated and less innocent as we grow older, and maturity greatly outweighs simplicity.

What are some of your favorite childhood memories?

Everyone has childhood memories. Whether these memories are sad or happy, they remain in our minds, in our head space. For me, what I remember most vividly are the happy memories I shared with the neighbors close to my age.

I remember us playing under the blazing sun, not caring if we got tanned. What’s more, I remember not hiding our emotions when we suffered wounds from playing tumba lata or tumbang preso; we cried and we laughed consistently. I remember how we enjoyed watching our favorite fantasy series, Super Inggo, while imitating him and utterly believing that we also had superhuman powers. I also remember how my friends and I would stay up late playing hide-and-seek, with the seeker always ending up fooled because the hiders were, in fact, already in their homes.

I also remember looking forward to summer because it was the time when we had the most opportunity to play. I remember waking up early to the sounds of our parents preparing breakfast, filled with excitement because, after that, we could play outside. I also remember pretending to be parents or children while playing bahay-bahayan. Similarly, I recall us playing “Teacher-teacher,” where one person pretends to be a teacher and the others pretend to be students.

Reliving these moments from the past seems overwhelming; they strike me to the core. It’s just nice to recall the march of time and how my childhood friends and I were all on the same page in the good old days. Nakakamiss.

There are many more or likely innumerable memories from childhood – some blurry, some crystal clear. There, one thing is certain: back then, our lives were simple – no worrying, no overthinking, no scary tomorrows to think about, no sleep deprivation, etc. We were just jam-packed with genuine joy, innocence and freedom.

Looking back, these memories have at least dulled the pain of recent challenges as an adult, riddled with insecurities as well as imperfections, and I am grateful to have once been blessed with such quixotic dedication to play as a child. And just like a child, I yearn to see many tomorrows filled with happiness.