Monday, February 9, 2009

Psychological Benefits of Simple Childhood Activities

I just started teaching myself how to rollerblade. Now, I know you're generally supposed to learn that when you're younger; I really do feel silly as a 17 year old girl stumbling around in her driveway. My little brother (age eleven) is also learning, along with my 25-year-old brother whenever he's home from med school. He's the one who convinced us to buy the skates, which didn't take much effort as I've been meaning to learn anyway. It's interesting to see both of them fall. It's not that it hurts all that much, it's just their reactions...
My youngest brother was mainly raised with me as the older sibling figure since both of my brothers are much older and moved out when he was little. He's not the toughest since I'm so affectionate with him and most of his friends are sweet boys, and seeing him falling over himself and going through consistent pain is almost rewarding in that I get to watch him grow, both muscle and a backbone.
My older brother is also fun to watch because he's so determined to get better... It irks him that he doesn't know these 'childish' things and so he ventures out to learn them, and he describes falling backward as 'the most helpless, miserable feeling', not because it hurts, but because of the stress response and humiliation attached. My brother is a very active, strong guy so seeing him in that position is amusing and somewhat enlightening.
After experiencing these things that most people go through as children, it makes me realize how important these activities are to shape character. You learn to accept drawbacks in times of pursuit and to maintain consistent determination, along with attaining accomplishment when you do end up getting better.

Anyway, I just thought it was interesting, and learning is pretty damn fulfilling. Again, I feel kind of dumb at first, but I'm also getting a lot better, and it feels great on my legs after it's done. I recently started riding my bike again this month and had a similar moment of light. With all the college application mess and trying to stay competitive in school, we often forget the importance of little things, and it feels really great to be active and get back into these things.


Provide similar stories orrr just discuss =]



edit: tl;dr - Physical activities such as learning how to ride a bike or rollerblade help shape a kid's character. Looks like it can help adults too?