INNER CHILD
When was the last time you played outside? What was your favorite toy growing up, or the color of your bedroom walls? How often do you still feel like a child?
Who you were as a child is the quintessence of who you have become. No matter how old we get or how dull our memories become, those youthful feelings of joy, neglect, jealousy, stability, frustration, and hope are all still ruminating inside of us. Our “inner child” is the reflection of core personality traits and beliefs that stem from childhood and span our lifetimes. Your unconscious childhood mind is the key to who you are. To understand your current problems or successes, you have to reconcile your inner child.
I began this project while thinking about my inner child because I can feel myself losing her despite remembering so vividly what it was like to be her. We were all tiny, hopeful, and dream filled once, whether you still maintain those qualities or not. Aging is something which every person must face regardless of circumstance, but it is what you do with your aging which matters.
Julia
“I want to be a kid forever. I can do all of my favorite things and I have lots of energy without having to think about money or anything adults have to be concerned about.”
Connor
“When I was really young I wanted to be a firefighter. Then, fast forward a couple years and I really wanted to make video games. I don't think any kid’s dreams are inherently what they will actually end up doing, but I was playing a lot of video games with my friends so I wanted to make more moments like that. Now that I am older, I’m glad I am not going to major in computer science. I am still interested in it but I only want to minor in it so I can major in education and teach kids, like me, how to do the things they love.”
Nori
“I think we all lose a bit of the ability to play and be quirky or strange without caring what other people think of us, and I feel like I am losing that even as I try to hold onto it.”
Jonny
“When I was four I played a piano recital at the University of Connecticut and I remember when I went up on stage and looked out at the crowd I was hit by this feeling that people were watching me. So I played my little song and would stop, and look out at the crowd, and go back to playing, and stop and look out again. I still remember that feeling and I still enjoy it. I think when I get up in front of a crowd and get a good reaction I feel that same pleasure as I did back then.”
Nikki
“My sister and I used to love to play with our little people's toys. I was a kid who was always playing school, always reading books. I still like playing school. I think my curiosity and my love of learning just shifted to being a love of teaching.”
Jimmy
“I love fish. I grew up in Hong Kong and my mom always had fish which I would watch for hours. When I was young we had a bowl of guppies on our balcony and a stray cat came and knocked them over. They fell all the way to the street as I watched. Now I live here and get to have 9 tanks to keep fish in. No cats though, they are bad news.”
Dave
“If I am acting out or being foolish my wife will ask me how it feels to be a 12-year-old. Then I always respond: please, I’m at least 13.”
Maggie
“It takes me a while to remember a lot of things now, but I am always glad when I can.”