When I was young, I dreamed of becoming many things. Sometimes, I wished I was an astronaut going up into space, finding new planets and jumping around in a cool space suit. Other times, I imagined being a cowboy in the Wild West, having gun fights and wearing stylish cowboy boots. On other occasions, I pretended to be a famous footballer, using my skills to score lots of goals for my favourite team and for England too. I loved being able to play the role of somebody, even just for a short time, to try to realise what it might be like to walk in their shoes.
Looking back, I realise that the imagination is a wonderful thing. I was able to create entire environments and scenarios in my head, using nothing more than my brain, and to be able to adapt things in my everyday surroundings to fit the specific story of the day. Growing up with siblings also helped, as it meant that even bigger stories could be created, combining our ideas and putting our thoughts into action. It also allowed for more variety in the stories, as sometimes I could be the hero while on other occasions, I would be the bad guy.
One of my all-time favourite memories as a kid was recreating the Indiana Jones character in my back garden. I played the role of Indiana Jones, with my younger sister as my assistant and my brother as the villain. We used everything in our garden, from the path to the patio, and the hedge to the fence, as part of the storyline to create obstacles that needed to be overcome, and we would keep the story going for hours!
My personal favourite was Indiana Jones and the Stolen Easter Eggs, where my brother hid small chocolate eggs around the garden and my sister and I had to find them by answering questions or solving a puzzle. It was difficult, but eventually we found all the eggs and shared them together.
Since then, I have seen many great things and met many amazing people, but my imagination is still strong and always will be. The elements of fun and variety of my imagination are something I try to bring into every part of my life, and I enjoy sharing with and hearing about other people's stories too.