Enlight 21

A Childhood Memory

Author: Ryan Yang | Category: Lifestyle | Date: 04-24-2020

As a child, there were many things that I viewed differently as I do now. My imagination was much greater and, sometimes, I would try to turn my fantasies into realities. It was wonderful having these things that only I knew about and that only I was able to understand. While there were such instances in my childhood, there was one experience that stuck out more than others. However, it was not really a fantasy, but a mere misunderstanding.

When I was 6 years old, my father would take me out to this mysterious park in the back of our neighborhood. There was a nice, small grass field, large enough to play soccer or baseball, with small hills where we could lay down to enjoy the sky view. The field was surrounded by pretty flowers with bushes all around, so it was like my own secret park where only my father and I spent time in. There was even a secret passageway into this place: through a small gap in the bushes. When I first came to this place, I was amazed to find such a pretty grass field that only I knew about. I could do anything here: study, play sports, run around, or even sleep. What made this fantasy more realistic was that there was never anyone else here. It was always just my father and me.

Later, in middle school, it had been a few years since I visited this “secret” place. I recall that it was the middle of summer. My sister and I decided to go out to bike around the neighborhood. While we enjoyed the breezing air that hit us while we rode our bikes, she asked, “Hey, you want to go to that park in the back of our neighborhood?”

I answered, “Sure!”, but I was unaware of what park she mentioned.

So I followed her, and where we arrived was the place I had used to spend time with my father. I then realized that all my fantasies were not completely true. Sure, the pretty field with the small hills was still there, but it occurred to me that this place was not so “secret” as I had imagined. At that moment, I even realized that there was an actual pathway into this park. The path that my father and I took was just to make everything more thrilling and to make it seem more secretive. I would see more people walking into the park, doing the same things my father and I did. My secret childhood place no longer existed.

Now, as a sophomore in high school, I have accepted the true reality of this place I had once viewed as a fantasy. While it is no longer as secretive as I had thought, I still cherish the many memories I made on this grass field, and when I do go out to run or ride my back, I often visit this place simply to enjoy nature and recall the fun moments I had during my childhood.