Sleep, Games, and Freedom: The Joys of Summer Vacation
For many people the end of the school year is a bittersweet event. However, I did not have those feelings as a child. School was not really something that I overly enjoyed. I much preferred my long summer holiday. I no longer had to get up early each and every weekday morning or sit for long hours each day as someone tried to pour knowledge into me.
My summer breaks were filled with sleeping, playing video games, going fishing, cycling all over town and of course cooking and eating food. It was so nice not to have to try and constantly focus on something or someone.
I really enjoyed sleeping as a child. I would stay up late and sleep to late into the morning. I was not a reader, so I honestly do not know what I was doing. I did listen to a lot of music though. I listened to all kinds of rock music, and it got heavier and heavier as I got older and older. I also liked checking out new bands that the music store would put out. They always were willing to talk about the bands and their music. The local music store also was the local arcade as well.
I was lucky in that I was of the first generation that experienced console games. I had a pong, the original console. It was followed by an Atari 2600. My Atari was fantastic! I could play games on it for hours at a time. It let me escape the real world and just get lost in the game. Looking back at those graphics now, it is amazing that I enjoyed it so much. However, it was the technology of the time. I maxed out the score on many of my games. A Nintendo followed and it was oK to the races from there. Even today, I still have two consoles that I play video games on in addition to playing them on my laptops.
The local pond was within walking distance, so I spent a lot of time fishing there. I had a Walkman blasting music in my ears and my fishing pole in my hand. I caught a lot of fish and usually just put them back into the pond. On occasion, I would also catch a few snakes as well. Unfortunately, the pond is now so overgrown with algae and vegetation that it is diKicult for people to fish there in present day.
My supervision was very lax. I cycled all over town. I, at times, would leave in the morning and return in the evening. I had ridden to so many places and usually did so with my friends. One place that I really enjoyed was the local BMX track. It was just for bikes, and it had great jumps and corners for a thrilling time. The falls could be painful, but one learns by failing first. The times were so diKerent then than now.
I learned how to cook as well. When one likes to eat, then they must learn how to cook. It was simple meals, but it is where everyone starts. I never went hungry that is for sure. My family did not have the money for me to go somewhere to eat each day. You can almost think of it as a skill that I was forced to learn. I still enjoy cooking to this day and of course have expanded drastically what comes out of my kitchen.
Overall, I am glad that I grew up before social media, the internet, mass computers and a time where people spend more time one an electronic device communicating than they do face to face. I had the old dial up or push-button phone and that was it. My summers were when I can truly be free and just be myself.
J. Tom, Business Developer at Moi Panda
