It's 2023. Do you know where your inner child is?

When I was a kid, I had to be creative with how I kept myself entertained. When I was 10 (circa 2001), we moved into a new house that sat on a large plot of land without a single neighbor in sight. I couldn't play with friends like I'd done my whole life. Instead, I turned to books, video games, music, movies, and the internet.

As I made friends in my new school, I learned that my interests weren't popular with other pre-teens. My favorite science fiction shows were considered lame, I wasn't listening to the hottest new pop music, and even Harry Potter was still just for nerds.

I started keeping things to myself, beginning a lifelong quest to feel accepted. I enjoyed my hobbies and fandoms in private while trying to keep up with what was "cool" for appearances at school. I did this for a very long time and sometimes still do. It wasn't until late in college when I began to slowly accept that it's okay to not constantly follow the zeitgeist just to fit in.

After accepting parts of myself that I had kept hidden for a long time, I realized that many of my interests had changed over the years. However, I also believe that there is a part of us that never truly loses the ability to love without judgment. This is why I turned to "parts work," a type of cognitive therapy developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz in the 1980s. The "parts" refer to a collection of sub-personalities within oneself, with the inner child being the most commonly known. Through this therapy, I have been taking steps to reconnect with my inner child and rediscover some of my childhood interests.

I'm not here to instruct anyone on how therapy works or what's best for them. That's for each individual and a professional to decide. I'm explaining this to show why revisiting some of my childhood favorites has been a cathartic experience for me.

Reconnecting with the the hobbies you loved as a child can have many benefits. It can bring back the feelings of joy and wonder that you experienced as a child, which can be a refreshing break from the stress and responsibilities of adulthood. Additionally, revisiting childhood interests can help to reignite your creativity and imagination, as well as provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Finally, it can be a reminder to stay true to yourself and your passions, even if they don't align with what society deems "cool" or popular.

By leaning into old routines like watching an episode of Star Trek before bed, rereading a favorite YA novel, or getting lost in old levels of Crash Bandicoot, I've caught glimpses of a more hopeful and optimistic version of myself. It's a Josh that hasn't yet learned some tough lessons and isn't quite so jaded. Writing this newsletter is an exercise in reconnection. If you go back to my first post, you can read about how I first discovered how to express myself online through Xanga.

Give it a try. Take a few moments to think of something you used to love as a child but haven't done in a while. What did you think of?