Guests, please know, I really suck at hospitality.

Growing up, obviously, things weren't perfect. There has been a lot of crazy memories, bad memories, and so many good memories that I will forever cherish forever. Playing outside created a lot of good memories. It really made a huge impact on my mental, physical, and overall well-being.

I used to play a lot outside with my cousin and my brother. We spent a lot of time at my grandparent's house because our mom was always working. We would have that structure as kids when we got out of school. We would get picked up by our grandma, then go to their house, eat, homework, then outside. Riding bikes were our thing growing up. We would ride our bikes to the store since it was not far at all from where we lived. We would ride bikes and hang out with our neighbors and we all went to school in the same area so it was really nice.

My cousin and I would have many times where we would be bored over the summer when school was out and we would play imaginary games. We would make up fun games of acting like we are in a movie. We would sing along to music, climb around stuff in the backyard to be adventurous and act like we were in another world. I feel like during those times, that's where our imaginations really started to blossom. It really made us smart and intelligent. That was a time where we really brought out our personalities in each other.

Playing outside really made my perspective of life different honestly. It taught me to always think outside the box and get out there and see what is in store for me. It taught me so much independence because, at the time, that was our literal freedom as kids. You know, as a kid you can only do so much. But how we were, we created different stuff to do. Anything to keep our minds busy. There was a time when our grandparents were working more and we had to go to a place called the boys and girls club. We would go there as well because we wanted to keep going back because it was fun, especially in the summer months.

The boys and girls club will forever have changed my life as well. I got to learn how to socialize and interact with people. There was a lot of physical activities to do, and arts and crafts. There were many times that we would just stay inside and play which also involved watching TV and being on the computer. But we would still find other ways to have fun inside like playing with toys, games, art stuff. Everything that I did growing up that didn't involve a TV, literally taught me partly the meaning of life.

I gained so many life skills and stuff that I still use to this day as a reference and that will never go away. If I wasn't pushed to go outside and go do different things, even the smallest stuff, I would not be exactly who I am right now at this very moment. Everything in life happens for a reason. Even the bad, but dwelling on the good memories of life makes the meaning of everything feel good because you know there is more to come, you become addicted to the adrenaline of it. Going outside taught me to also learn how to move forward and that the world is yours. Life is present, smell the roses, and live it.