Imagination Wars

My age at the time was approx. 8 years old.

James, Joseph, and I were in a great battle, we fought as valiantly as we could conceive. Naturally one of us had to be “The guy who gets hurt and is dragged away by his heroic comrades”. This time, that was me. I remember grabbing the pistol of a dead soldier laying nearby and shooting at the evil spider shaped machines that were chasing us, as we were the only human survivors remaining on the battlefield. I vividly remember being pulled by the back of my shirt by James when suddenly a metal spider jumped on me pinning my arm back, then hearing and seeing the droid be kicked off of me and shot into pieces by Joseph. My left leg and entire lower left torso had been severely damaged earlier and were unusable, thus the dragging. I remember James saying something about me needing to get a robotic leg. “Cool…” was my only response.

All of these things are very clear in my memory, but the one thing that stands out the most for me is the fact that if asked there is no way I could tell you where we really were during this incredible imaginary battle, I have no idea what me true surroundings looked like. All I remember are enemies, craters, dead soldiers, and the like. But that’s just how we played. We never played sports like football, soccer, or basketball. No way, we played War, Space Pirates, Dino Hunters… etc.
This memory and ones similar to it are very near to me, and certainly symbolize my childhood mind and my mind as of now.

The unique innocent events of a child’s mind are much different than that of an adult. Why is this? Is it a sign of simple physical and mental maturity? Or perhaps of experiences throughout the child’s life? Maybe even as a result of trying to imitate the grownups they love?

Without using the word fun, can you explain why a child wants to play? Why do some choose this game while others choose that? Does it have anything to do with his peers? Or his parents? Maybe Ideas of good and evil?