My Imagination

When I was a child, I played games where I pretended that my sisters were my patients. I was the perfect nurse because I took good care of them. When they had a "fever", I put a chair in the shower and bathed them. Then, I carried them to bed and checked their temperature, with the stick of a lollipop, to see if the fever was down. I also gave my patients medicine; it was sugar water or candy pills. 

We also created our own toys for playing. For example, if my mom bought corn, we created little dolls with them. We wrapped our baby corn in sheets, and we held it as if it was a real child. We also imagined that the baby cried, so we sang a song and our babies stopped crying. We combed the baby's hair, it was supposedly the corn's hair, and we put a colorful bow on it. My mom knew how to make dresses, so we  picked up the fabrics that she did not need to make dresses for the dolls. We created a catwalk fashion show, and then, everyone voted for the dress we liked the most. The winner could make more dresses for all the babies. We were so happy creating different clothes for our dolls.We also played with empty cans; they were our phones. First, we washed two empty cans and made a hole in the bottom of them. After, we put a long string and tied it tightly so it would not come loose. When it was ready, one of us stayed in the living room and the other in the next room and we talked. Then, we would go into another room, farther each time to see if it still worked. If we did not hear each other, we returned to where we could, and we kept talking. Sometimes the wire broke and we had to make another one.

I pretended to be the perfect mother that I wished I could have. I never understood why my mom set rules for me, so in my games, I pretended to be the best mom in the world. For example, sometimes I played with my imaginary children, and I let them to do what they wanted. They could go to sleep with their friends every night, I did not force my children to do homework, and they could be absent from school if they wanted. I also talked to them all the time, I understood their feelings, answered their questions, and I gave them the time they required to take from me. Everything was perfect in my world.

All those activities shaped my life because when I played to be a nurse, I reflected something that I wanted to be one day; I wanted to take care of people, and I unconsciously knew some of the responsibilities that it involved. My imagination was working while I created toys and invented new games because when we are children, our life is magical. We do not need to have money or have the best toys for fun. The innocence of a child cannot be bought with money because the best things of life are present even in the smallest details of it. My mom did not let me do what I wanted when I was a child, I understand now that we cannot raise children doing everything that they want because they must follow rules and have a good education. I also know that my mom was trying to protect me from many dangers I could have been exposed to as a child. Also my mom always gave me her time and listened to me, but I did not want to share her with my siblings. These experiences shaped my life. Thanks to them I am the way I am now, and I would not change anything that I have experienced.

My Memories

This picture was taken when I was five years old and my sister seven years old. We were wearing the Michoacán traditional Indian dress because it was Our Lady of Guadalupe day. Catholics around the world celebrate the day the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to the Indian Juan Diego and told him that she wanted to build a temple for her in the place where she appeared. Since then, every December 12 is dedicated to her. It was a holiday my dad did not work, I remember that we went to church and at night we went to La Plaza and walked around. Then my mom bought me a balloon and my sister and I played with it. We were waiting for the time when the people started the fireworks that burned El Castillo, a structure that lit up with shapes that spun full of colors, followed by El Torito, a type of firework that was like a puppet that chased the people in La Plaza. I remember that it was fun and colorful.

When I was six years old, I remember my birthday party where my friends and I had fun. The children participated in different activities; some of them played soccer, others ate, and others hit the piñata. I felt like the most important person in the world because I was with my friends, sisters, and parents. I also was wearing a princess dress like one I've seen in a cartoon movie. I told my mom I wanted the dress to look like the one that princess had, so she made it and I wore it on that special day. What I liked most about the party was when my mom put the cake on the table. Then, she placed six lit candles on top of the cake, and I had to blow them while my friends and family clapped and sang "Feliz Cumpleaños." Finally, my mother gave everyone cake, and the party continued. I will never forget this party because it was one of my first memories, and it was very special to me.

I remember that my grandparents lived in a little town far from the city, and my sister and I always went to visit. I liked to go there because my grandparents had many animals, such as horses, chickens, pigs, and dogs. I did not have animals at home, so I enjoyed feeding, cleaning, and playing with them. My grandfather took me to ride a horse; it was something that I liked a lot. Sometimes I was a little afraid of falling down, but my grandfather hugged me and told me he would make sure that nothing bad happened to me. That place was very nice because I could get in touch with the nature. There I could find many fruit tree. My sister, cousins, and I climbed up the tree together to cut fruit and eat them. Then we made natural fruit cocktails with oranges, apples, and mangoes. We also made lemonade or tree leaves tea. At night, all the children slept together. We spent the night sharing horror stories. After that we were afraid because we thought that the ghost, dead, and monsters of those stories could be real and could appear at any moment. We covered ourselves with blankets and closed our eyes. We did not have notion of what time we fell asleep. The next day we woke up and did many things because the most important thing was to have fun.

My mother and father are the most important people in the world. I remember when they gave me advice because they always wanted the best for me and my siblings. Since I was a child, they told me that they wanted me to be a good person, and to fight for everything I wanted. Thanks to them I am the person that I am today. Now, I am a mother and I am fulfilling their desires because I become the person that they wanted me to be, and I hope to raise my children as they raised me. This is something that I will never forget and I will always thank God for giving me them as parents.

My memories are wonderful because they represent experiences that I had one day, and they became a part of my life through time. Even the life I live today reflects childhood events that shaped me into the person I am today, and those will prevail in my memory and heart forever.