This letter is dedicated to a place I hold dear to my heart. During my childhood, it offered me a safe space, and now that I’m older, it continues to do so.
Before this second semester started, I found myself revisiting it by reading “Winnie-The-Pooh” by A.A. Milne. I got the book for Christmas, and I loved it so much. They’re supposedly “for children,” but I think everyone, regardless of their age, can sit and enjoy Pooh’s adventures. I felt this warm feeling, almost homey, and I smiled and laughed out loud as I read it.
I never liked playing favorites, but I found it to be inevitable in this situation. Pooh has all my heart. He worries about food, his physical appearance, his friends, he’s sometimes lazy, and calls himself a bear of very little brain. How can you not like this silly bear that’s so fond of honey? While we’re on the topic of honey, I was quite disappointed the day I tasted it for the first time. I was lied to by Disney’s animations. They drew it very shiny and Pooh made it sound so yummy. My childhood self was crushed.
But besides the honey, The One Hundred Acre Wood can be way more than just where all these bizarre and silly characters live. Everyone has their own quirks and, more certain than not, you’ll relate to them. Pooh is always hungry, Eeyore can be gloomy but, once in a while, he feels happy-ish. Maybe some of you, like Eeyore, feel stuck in life and feel that the best days of your life are out of your reach. Eeyore is always sad and left out most of the time, but even the gloomiest character gets to feel a bit of happiness. On Eeyore’s birthday, Pooh and Piglet got him a present and he was surprised that anyone got him something.
I don’t know how many more words I can use to describe my love for it or if any can live up to it. The One Hundred Acre Wood has given me (and probably you too) more than just good memories from our childhood. Pooh trying to get honey from a bee tree, Tigger bouncing and singing his song, Piglet quivering from fear, Rabbit getting mad at all of them, Owl misspelling words and acting smart, and Christopher Robin loving all his giddy friends… that’s what it means to me.
It’s a place that keeps my inner child alive, and personally, I think that’s what a lot of people are missing. We’re obliged to grow up so fast and act serious, yet a little silliness doesn’t hurt anybody. Why would you take away somebody’s hope and imagination? Life can be serious as it is with things like taxes and income inequality.
Finally, I hope you have fond memories from childhood like I do from the One Hundred Acre Wood. Now, as Christopher Robin once said, “The most important thing is, even when we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.” I believe we’re what we read and watched when we were growing up. It stays with you even if you haven’t revisited it in quite some time.
Use this month of February, the month of love, to fall back in love with your childhood self. Without them, you wouldn’t be here.
Lastly, thank you to The One Hundred Acre Wood for giving me so much, and may we meet again.
With love,
Alejandra