“And that’s why stuffed animals make me sad.” It sounds like a line out of a comedy film set in a psychologist’s office and I can already imagine the responses this statement may garner from my friends. But before you gear up to roast me for being a snowflake, hear me out. The explanation behind this simple statement is not as cut and dry as it may seem at first glance. That’s because it's not just about stuffed animals.

This sense of melancholia that is attached to stuffed animals comes from another source. I believe it comes from all of the things that stuffed animals have come to represent for me. In the beginning, a stuffed animal is a security item. It is a soft, cute and cuddly thing that is given to children so that they have something to attach to. Something for them to love and keep them company. Once the child gains a semblance of self and has attached to their caregivers, they start to attach to others and other things. I'm sure that most of us had special objects that meant a lot to them as a child; a blanket, a stuffed animal, or a toy of some sort. The connections that you form with these objects feels very real, and in a sense it is. I remember my stuffed dogs as a child and all of them had their own unique personalities. These stuffed animals are used by children as our first agents for our playing out how life should be. I remember using my stuffed dogs to play out scenarios in my imagination and also imbued those dogs with traits that subconsciously I wanted for myself. The other thing that stuffed animals teach us is how to love others that aren’t our immediate caregivers. Given their soft and cute nature, it’s easy to see why children latch on to and love their stuffed animals so much. By learning to attach to something other than our parents, stuffed animals provide children with a tool that is valuable for personal growth and social development.

Now that I've given these observations on stuffed animals, my reasons for seeing a melancholy aspect to them will be able to be seen more clearly. When I see stuffed animals, I am always reminded of the innocence of a child. Love is so easy for them and they do so without hesitation. Seeing a teddy bear reminds me of how much a child can put into something as simple as an inanimate object; love, hopes, dreams, and ideals. And I think that’s the biggest part for me; knowing that one day the child will face the real world and see that life is not so easy and nice as it once was. Those feelings of love and connection are not so easy to find and actualize in real life and our innocence is lost. But then I am reminded that life is overall pretty good. Sure it gets crazy and messy at times, but it's an interesting ride with all sorts of twists and turns.

So I suppose that behind it all is perhaps a sense of nostalgia. Seeing a stuffed animal is an immediate connection to childhood and all of the naive and innocent ways of looking out at the world. Ways that were eventually, albeit gently, washed away to see the world as it is, and it's not all that bad. It's a fleeting moment wherein I wish that life was as simple and easy as when I was a child, playing with stuffed animals.