Everyday at recess, my friends and I tried to touch the leaves of the huge tree with our feet by swinging on the playground. We propelled ourselves with all of our strength, cheering each other on. I remember how sore my arms would feel from pumping excessively, and I recall the way that my hands turned orange from the rust of the swing that I was clutching a little too hard.

My mom didn't restrict my play in the same way Weila's parents did, but my mom's one stipulation was that I wasn't allowed to play with barbies. She thought that they were a negative influence that would lead me to have a negative body image when I got older. She criticized, not unreasonably, the almost inhuman proportions of the dolls' bodies. On the rare occasion that I went to the house of a friend who had barbie dolls, it was like the best day of my life. I loved taking time to pick out the perfect outfit for my doll to wear, trying to make her look fashionable and stylish.

Willa’s passage reminded me of my childhood memory. They are similar to some extent, but are also quite different. What’s similar is that when I was young, I also got limited play time, specially TV time, since TV is harmful to eyes and I’m so addicted to the cartoons. However, instead of a frustrating memory it should have been, it was kind of fun and exciting everytime I recall it now. Since I can’t watch too much TV when my parents are home, so every time my parents leave for work, leaving myself at home alone, it will be my precious TV time.

Though Weila writes about the limited time she had to play, she still makes it seem like the times when she got to hang out with her friends was a kind of escape. Especially when I was younger, playing was a way for me to get out of my head, forget about my inadequacies, my fights with my parents, and lack of friends that were my age. I could stop questioning my every action, movement, word. When I was in true "play mode," I was in my most natural state.

As a child, I was fortunately given the opportunity to explore the world around. Not put on such a strict schedule that I was able to exercise and stretch my imagiation. I think that play can be defined as basketball and board games or simply eating and interacting. My sister and I would spend hours at my grandmother's house with nothing to do but what we could think up. People would probably think that not having an abundance of toys would mean that you had a sad childhood but I would vastly disagree.