Being an only child allows you to get all the love... and of course, all the strict rules and nagging from your parents. I'm not complaining, though.
Despite being an only child, I grew up with a few of my cousins who lived in my grandma's house back then. The thing is, they were all boys. So, I ended up playing with games and toys that were "supposed to be" for boys.
That's me and an older cousin who's like a brother to me...
You may see a huge doll and a teddy bear on the floor, but my mom said, I didn't really play with them. I preferred playing with the blue toy car in front of me back then. I guess, I kind of idolize my cousin so I end up playing with his toys instead.
Sorry for the crappy photo... hahah
As I grew older, I received a lot of toys as a gift. I had a lot of dolls, small and big doll houses, a Lego set, and a bunch of Jollibee toys. However, they mostly ended up as decorations since I barely played with them.
When I was in elementary, Tamiya's Mini 4WD (race car), Beyblade (spinning toy you can use to battle others) and air guns were among my favorites. Sadly, I don't have any photos of them.
My father even bought me a race track for my Mini 4WD so I could race with my cousins. My cousins and I also tried to exchange parts to make some hybrid cars. We also did the same with our Beyblades. As for the air guns, we used to play outside and do it either airsoft style or just target shooting.
It was so much fun! I remember we even sometimes played at night and pretended to be ninjas, so we'd cover our faces and run around the compound. My older cousin would suddenly say, "It's ninja-nic time!" and we'd all go out to run around. Hahaha I don't even know what ninja-nic means until now. xDDD
Playing basketball with my father and cousins...
Aside from toys, I preferred playing outside. There's this small basketball half-court in our compound where we used to play basketball a lot. We sometimes played badminton here, too. My cousins also helped me train for my sports activities at school. There were very few students in my school, so we had to play several sports and I chose basketball and volleyball. The church in front of our house has a volleyball and tennis court, so we often played there for practice, too. (I enjoyed basketball more, so I was better at it than other sports back then.)
My second cousin's house was around 20 minutes away on foot, so we sometimes walked to their house. They have this dance revolution game that we often play with... if not, we also play with Gameboy or family computer.
I also have my own Gameboy, family computer, and dance pad at home which were all gifts from either my aunts or my parents. So sometimes, they're the ones to come over.
When I graduated from elementary, we had to move to the countryside to start anew. (Yep... shit stuff happened, so that was the best choice back then.) I couldn't bring all my toys, so I gave them away to my younger cousins or I donated them. There was a donation drive for old toys and books during that time (during the Christmas season), so I usually participated in it.
I still have this baby, though. I got this from a family friend who used to be our neighbor. She gave it to me when they had to move out. I was really close to her and she was like my older sister. She was several years older than me, so we couldn't really play together since she was busy with her studies. But, she'd sometimes invite me over for some snacks. I remember one of my older male cousins would go with me because he'd play with her younger brother as well.
I've given all my teddy bears and toys except for this one, so it says a lot... I think? I cuddle with this little fella when I sleep. :)
Toys may come and go... people would outgrow them, but the memories spent with the people we played with will always remain.
Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend! Good night from my side of the world! <3