Playing with LEGOs has always been a part of my life. While some people, mostly parents probably, viewed LEGOs as cheap overpriced little pieces of plastic, those bricks and minifigures were of great value to me.

From an early age, I was introduced to LEGOs. It was a way to explore my creativity and imagination, and to have fun. Sometimes though, it was a way to escape. As a child, there are a lot of things you can’t control, such as divorce, moving neighborhoods, or switching schools. That being said, I remember after school I would always run straight upstairs and jump back into whatever world I was building or battle being fought that day. In that world was a place I could control.

On a positive note, some of my fondest memories were building LEGOs with my family. While some families spent time with each other by watching the football game that night or putting on a movie, my family built LEGOs together. I loved the joy of putting together a set piece by piece or the satisfaction I would get after finding a piece I was so desperately searching for.

As I grew older, LEGOs stayed with me. While the way I played may have changed, it was still equally therapeutic for me. In high school, I still found myself building or creating something. Sometimes it may have been embarrassing to explain to my friends why there were a ton of LEGOs all over my floor, or even worse a girl, but it never discouraged me to stop. Even now in college, when I am just a bit too overwhelmed, I know those “cheap overpriced little bricks” are waiting right there under my desk .