PENN STATE UNIVERSITY, BRANDYWINE CAMPUS
Nostalgia in Wrapping
Paper and a Bow
Aidan Keenan
Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, apk5152@psu.edu
It’s that time of the year again! The holiday season is here once again. Tis the
season for horrible sweaters, polar temperatures, the radio stations to start playing the same
annoying songs as last year, over excited neighbors putting out decorations WAY TOO
EARLY, research papers in every class all due before break and- OH, wait, this is Sipposed i
to be a happy season..
The nolidy season is here once again! Tis the season for family reunions, spend- §
ing time with good friends, eating good food, laughing and just plain old having a good # |
time.
There was once a time when the first holiday thoughts in our head weren’t ones
of annoyance and murderous rage, and we didn’t have to try and remind ourselves about
the good parts of the holidays. When we see a younger sibling opening a gift or another
young child wandering through the toy aisle at Wal-Mart with an eager anticipation in his/
her eyes, we know that the holiday season meant most to us when we were that young
ourselves.
What changed? How come getting that new RC car when you were 10 brought a
more meaningful response from you than the new laptop you got at 20? Well I'll tell you
what changed, YOU DID! You grew up! You got older, gained new motives and desires.
But that doesn’t mean that excited kid isn’t a part of you still. I decided to find that inner
child in other students and visited the lounge next to the café in the Commons building. I
began talking to a small group of friends who agreed to help me and answer my questions.
When I asked, “What was your favorite toy as a kid?” they all put their heads
down and thought back for a moment. Then one of them, Dante Sciulli, responded with, “a
basketball was always a good one.” After that, it all just erupted.
Bishara Bronson jumped in by describing all the fun he had with “Those Power
Ranger ninja swords!” |
Mike Puhl’s favorite toys were Pokémon video games. Mike’s retro video game idea lit a
spark which spread to everyone else’s mind and roared up like a wild fire. “Gameboy with
Mario and Tetris,” shouted Divonn Davis, whose thoughts were immediately echoed by
others in the group.
“The Dreamcast!” yelled Bronson.
“Yu-Gi-Oh cards,” said Sciulli.
“Any Sega game,” said a voice through the chorus of excited conversation.
At this point, the commotion was loud enough to draw attention from around the
room and even one student to join in the discussion, Martin Ortiz, who agreed with Davis’
pledge to Mega Man and then added his own input of “Donkey Kong Country!”
When the conversation turned to the game Tekken, Bishara Bronson exclaimed,
“Me and my family would play the game to decide who’d clean dishes and if you knew
you were going to play someone good, you’d just give up and take the dishes.”
I don’t want you to think all this happened as a quick series of statements, each
new topic and brand initiated a couple minutes of intense conversation, so intense that I
was unable to get many exact quotes. It was very much like trying to cling to a raft while
getting sucked into a whirlpool.
It was very clear to me how this group would react if they got any of the toys
mentioned as gifts today.
“Retro is nostalgic,” Martin Ortiz said.
“Yeah, it’s more fun,” agreed Bronson.
And there were still others like Dante Sciulli who said they’d prefer modern
gifts over retro ones, which is fine, there are some fun modern games out there too.
*cough* Battle Field 4 *cough*cough*
When I eventually left after getting a page worth of notes, they were still deep
in their excited clamor and even making plans to meet up so they could play some of
these games. I had awoken the inner child in my fellow peers without even trying. If one
sentence is all it took for me to find the perfect gift for someone, why do people always
freak out about how hard it is to find the right gift?
If you want to reinstate the childlike wonder and joy of the holidays back into
your lives, then simply take a trip down memory lane. You can come up with the perfect
answer for when your relatives keep pestering you wilh gift ideas and maybe come up
with the perfect gift idea for someone else.
We all have our inner kid buried somewhere inside us, and to release that kid or
see it released in a friend, is to bring the goodness back into the holidays.
Have Free Time? Donate, Help and
Support this Holiday Season!
Tyler Coffey
Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, tzc5123@psu.edu
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia's Child Life
Education and Creative Arts Therapy Department - 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 590-2001
+ Kids love toys...
@H
The Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia’
Hope lives here.
everyone knows that! Why not make a kid happy and donate toys!
Hospitality Network of Northwest Philadelphia
* 7047 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA 1911 (215) 247-4663www.philashelter.org
Have free time? Looking for something to do over break? Help by giving/handing out food to the needy. ~
Little Brothers — Friends of the Elderly
642 N. Broad St. Philadelphia, PA 19130 (215) 765-8118 www.philadelphia.littlebrothers.org
* Use your free time by hanging out with elderly people who may not have family close by.
Surrey Home Delivered Meal Drivers for Seniors
+1105 Earlington Road, Havertown, PA 19083.
Deliver meals to the needy in the Havertown area
*If you don’t have the time, visit the site www.philabundance.org and donate money that will put food on a family’s table for the holidays!
Ring a Bell -Red Kettle Campaign - Salvation Army
ILABUNDANCE
Driving hunger from our community.
There plenty of ways to help out at www.SalvationArmyUSA .org.
* Ring a bell as part of the Red Kettle campaign or donate to a local pantry.
* Opportunities for both can be found on the organization’s website.