![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psipsyLego has always been a part of my life, having owned some since I was 6. I loved it then, and that never really changed over time. For that matter, I do remember playing with some similar (but incompatible) building blocks from Tente earlier than that; I was no older than 4. So, the roots of playing with such toys were in place in my earliest memories. I took to it readily. Maybe I was mentally predisposed for that sort of thing, maybe playing with constructive toys at such an early age was a potent brain-builder. Maybe both.
For me and my young ADD brain, it made for a wonderful creative outlet. The constant mental activity that came from thinking about how each brick should go together to give my ideas physical form was combined with the constant gratification from seeing my creativity come together in real time. The best of both worlds.
The appeal is obvious; a pile of interlocking bricks can be used to build almost anything. As the number of bricks increases on a linear scale, the potential increases on a logarithmic scale. From the time I got my first Lego set on my 6th birthday (or maybe Christmas that year; they're close enough), to the time I finally moved out on my own, I estimate my collection grew to between 10k to 15k pieces. For a few years after I graduated high school, there was a bit of a dry spell, where I didn't do much with Lego. Every now and then I would buy some; a set here or there.
The dry spell officially ended in 2003 when I learned that there were Lego stores, with one "nearby" in Northern Virginia. I went to that more than a few times, then they opened up more stores, now with a total of 6 within easy reach for me, with one of them only a few miles away from where I work. Oh, and they have Pick-a-Brick walls, where they sell pieces by the cup. (Lemme tell ya, buying Lego by the gallon feels good.) That combined with a grown man's disposable income with zero oversight, meant that over the next 11 years, my 15k piece collection ballooned somewhere past 100k. I have to guess on that number anymore.
There are other sources too, such as ebay and Bricklink, which is great for those pieces that range from "available thousands at a time" to "hasn't been made in decades". Right now I'm using that to obtain some of the less-common minifig parts. Lego has also taken the logical step of selling a substantial selection on their own website.
So if I'm an adult now, why am I still playing with the same toys I played with when I was 6? Because I enjoy it. I enjoy putting things together. I still benefit from the good-feel brain chemicals that get stirred up from the constant mental activity of assembling things to give form to an idea combined with the constant gratification of seeing it happen as I build. It really does make me happy. When I'm feeling troubled about something, it soothes me. Even when the burdens and responsibilities of adulthood and the age of 40 stare down at me, all it takes for me to shake off that stare is a big pile of plastic bricks.
Play well.
For me and my young ADD brain, it made for a wonderful creative outlet. The constant mental activity that came from thinking about how each brick should go together to give my ideas physical form was combined with the constant gratification from seeing my creativity come together in real time. The best of both worlds.
The appeal is obvious; a pile of interlocking bricks can be used to build almost anything. As the number of bricks increases on a linear scale, the potential increases on a logarithmic scale. From the time I got my first Lego set on my 6th birthday (or maybe Christmas that year; they're close enough), to the time I finally moved out on my own, I estimate my collection grew to between 10k to 15k pieces. For a few years after I graduated high school, there was a bit of a dry spell, where I didn't do much with Lego. Every now and then I would buy some; a set here or there.
The dry spell officially ended in 2003 when I learned that there were Lego stores, with one "nearby" in Northern Virginia. I went to that more than a few times, then they opened up more stores, now with a total of 6 within easy reach for me, with one of them only a few miles away from where I work. Oh, and they have Pick-a-Brick walls, where they sell pieces by the cup. (Lemme tell ya, buying Lego by the gallon feels good.) That combined with a grown man's disposable income with zero oversight, meant that over the next 11 years, my 15k piece collection ballooned somewhere past 100k. I have to guess on that number anymore.
There are other sources too, such as ebay and Bricklink, which is great for those pieces that range from "available thousands at a time" to "hasn't been made in decades". Right now I'm using that to obtain some of the less-common minifig parts. Lego has also taken the logical step of selling a substantial selection on their own website.
So if I'm an adult now, why am I still playing with the same toys I played with when I was 6? Because I enjoy it. I enjoy putting things together. I still benefit from the good-feel brain chemicals that get stirred up from the constant mental activity of assembling things to give form to an idea combined with the constant gratification of seeing it happen as I build. It really does make me happy. When I'm feeling troubled about something, it soothes me. Even when the burdens and responsibilities of adulthood and the age of 40 stare down at me, all it takes for me to shake off that stare is a big pile of plastic bricks.
Play well.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-10-23 03:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-23 07:12 am (UTC)