Toy Stories...

I loved toys when I was little and one of my first loves was Star Wars. I started collecting Star Wars toys as soon as the movie came out. My mom bought me all the Rebel action figures, the good guys, like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Ben Kenobi, Princess Leia, R2-D2, Chewbacca, and C-3PO. I even had most of their ships and vehicles. My brother got all the bad guys, Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Greedo, Walrus Man, Hammerhead, IG-88. He had the Death Star. He had a TIE Fighter. I had an X-Wing Fighter. Between the two of us, our Star Wars universe was stacked!

Eventually, my brother got more into hunting, fishing, and camping, and less into toys, so all the Star Wars stuff pretty much became mine. Then around 4th grade, I discovered He-Man and I was all in! He-man, Skeletor, Merman, Beast Man, Teela, Battle Cat, Castle Grayskull,  I had them all. I loved Trap Jaw and Man-E-Faces. I loved that weird, mystical, muscle-bound world.

By 5th grade, though, G.I. Joe had taken over. That became my real obsession. For about four years, I was all about G.I. Joe. I wanted every single figure, vehicle, comic book, everything. I started getting an allowance, and I saved every penny just to buy more Joes. And when birthdays or Christmas rolled around? That’s all I asked for.

Then something happened near the end of fifth grade that I kind of regret. For the first time ever, my parents decided we were going to have a yard sale. We had never had one before, but this was my shot, my chance to make real money off stuff I already had. And what was I so excited to sell? My entire Star Wars and He-Man collection.

In my mind, if I sold those, I could buy even more G.I. Joe toys. I didn’t think of them as valuable or collectible. They were just toys, and I had already played with them for years. So I laid them all out at the yard sale, thinking I might make a nice chunk of change. Soon a man came by. He looked everything over, paused, and said, “I’ll give you $25 for all of it.”

Twenty five dollars!

I had never seen $25 in my life! Maybe the most I’d ever held at once was ten or fifteen bucks. But Twenty five? In my mind I was about to hit the lottery! I couldn’t hand him the toys fast enough! And I was already calculating what that could get me. For the record, it was about five G.I. Joe figures or one vehicle.

Looking back, I can't believe that man took advantage of an 11-year-old like that. But then again, maybe he didn’t. Maybe that’s just how life works sometimes.

I don’t really know if I regret selling those toys. At the time, I didn’t think twice about it because I was having too much fun with G.I. Joe. But now, whenever I walk past a vintage toy store and see those same Star Wars and He-Man figures behind a glass case, I can’t help but wonder where that guy is and what he did with my toys.

Those toys brought me so much joy and happiness when I had them. But when I no longer had them, I kept right on being happy. So I don’t think I really missed out or lost anything. I just moved on. Because that’s what life is, a series of seasons, beginnings and endings. My love of Star Wars and He-Man had a beginning…and it had an ending. You can’t keep everything, or really anything forever.

Literally right now, in my basement storage, I still have all my G.I. Joe toys packed into giant totes. I don’t play with them. I don’t display them. And honestly, I’m not even sure what I’m going to do with them. They’re all opened, worn out, played with. So they’re not worth much, not really.

They had their season. And it might be time to let them go, too.

But here’s the thing I hadn’t realized until now, Star Wars, He-Man, and G.I. Joe didn’t just entertain me, they taught me how to use my imagination. I could play by myself for hours, creating wild scenarios and epic storylines. And sometimes, my friends would bring their toys over and we’d build entire worlds together. Playing with those toys was how I learned to create stories. That was me flexing my imagination muscle, and like any muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets.

When I look back now, I realize that one of the reasons I can create stories today is because I started creating stories back then. So more than being regretful that I practically gave those toys away, I guess I’m actually grateful. Because what those toys gave me, a love for storytelling, world-building, and a creative mind, is worth way more than $25!

Here's a real quick video of me sharing 3 things that I do regularly to keep my imagination and my creative sword sharp. Hope you enjoy it and share it! Thanks!