As a child, I always wanted one thing: to be older. And now that I am older (not that much), I often find myself wishing that I could go back to the days when I was younger, and life was simpler. These days I have lots of homework and exams to do, bills and loans to pay, and a career and family to build. We all have ways to deal with these pressures but one that never fails for me is putting my hands to work and flexing my mind with a beloved childhood toy of mine. I’m talking about building blocks! Here are just a few of the many reasons that I personally love playing with building blocks:
1. Building blocks remind me of my childhood
The first thing I love about building blocks is that they take me back in time. They take me to a time when my biggest worry was when I was getting my next building block set. The sound of building blocks being dumped on a table, the feeling of holding them in my hands, and the taste of trying to pry two building blocks apart (hopefully this wasn’t just me) always take me back to my childhood days. More than this, playing with building blocks convince me of what Friedrich Nietzsche said: “In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.”
2. Building blocks allow me to express creativity
Playing with building blocks also allows me to truly express my creative side. When it comes to drawing, frankly, I am abysmal. Painting, even worse. Every time someone talks about creativity, I always somehow feel uncreative and downright robotic. Except when I have building blocks. Give me a tub full of building blocks and a few hours and I will imagine the most exhilarating tale and bring it to life with nothing but those building blocks. I will make the most exciting and unrealistic house imaginable. I will live through a standoff between an outlaw and the sheriff in the wild west. I will fly into outer space, discover a new species, and colonize a new planet. I will finally be creative.
3. Building blocks are a fun alternative to social media
Another added benefit to playing with building blocks is that they keep me from scrolling on social media. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of benefits to living in a world with social media. However, I think I can safely say that we’ve all been caught just mindlessly scrolling on social media before and wondering why we weren’t doing something better. I at least know that I have been there and often, my excuse is that I don’t have anything better to do (which is hardly ever true). However, anytime that I have building blocks, I forget all about the world of social media and get to focus on what’s right in front of me.
4. Building blocks are satisfying
And finally, playing with building blocks brings me a sense of satisfaction that I don’t often find in other activities. There are not many things like this that are so readily accessible to the average person. The feeling of making something with your hands and seeing it slowly come together out of small bricks and pieces is truly amazing. This feeling keeps me coming back to playing with building blocks, and hopefully will for the rest of my life!