Child’s Imagination in Writing

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -George Bernard Shaw

     You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. In the book, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”, by Dylan Thomas, we see how a child’s view of the world is drastically different than how adults see it. And oftentimes children's creative imagination’s shape the way we write and tell stories. Children see the world much differently than adults. This story expresses the creative nature of a child’s mind.

    A boy and his friends were venturing through his town on Christmas Day. They walk through the town during a blizzard.

The silent one-clouded heavens drifted on to the sea. Now we were snow-blind travelers lost on the north hills, and vast dewlapped dogs, with flasks round their necks, ambled and shambled up to us, baying "Excelsior.”

These kids take a quaint little town and turn it into a harsh wilderness where they were hardy traveler’s barring the cold to survive. In their minds they were able to take a seemingly boring town and turn it into whatever they wanted.

  This ability to see more than present is frequently explored by writers. A lot of story telling uses this technique to exaggerate the story and keep the listeners captivated. A child’s imagination is something that many people find interesting and may have a deeper meaning than just their growing and developing minds.

    Throughout this short story the author exhibits childlike imagination in his writing through images, actions, and detailed descriptions. He also uses similes and metaphors to greater amplify his writing to help set the scene and captivate the reader.

Why Follow Tradition?

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.” ― Leonard Bernstein

     Tradition is a powerful aspect of humanity. We often follow tradition to ease the stress of our daily lives with something that remains tantamount. 

    One tradition I follow is running. Every morning I run on the trails behind my house purely for the repetition of it. With the stress and change everyday in my school life and extracurricular activities, I need something that stays the same. Because change is stressful. And nothing is less stressful than absolutely nothing. 

    Traditions are not always chosen but developed. Something you enjoy will make its way into your head as something you want to do again. So find something you like to do and stick with it. I know that life is short and to try as much as we can before we die is a desperate desire for mankind. But stress is like a glass barrier between you and your dreams. Stress pulls you apart and sorts you to what you want to accomplish. Keeping part of you in work, part of you in your aspirations, and part of you with your family. Getting pulled apart between things you love to do is not what life is short so make it sweet means. You can’t reach your full potential of your not whole. Travel the world and try new things as one. Without your ambitions and hopes holding you back.

    I run as a means to remain unstressed and able to reach for everything I want to without overwhelming myself or pushing away other things I like to do. So find your tradition as it may give yourself back to you.