We are born into this world and grow as the days go by, and the list of experiences and memories pile up. There are always the “firsts” that lead us to become the people we are today. Through those experiences we create fond memories that make us happy and become the memories that shaped our childhood. Whether these memories are exciting or a little scary, never the less, there will always be a first for everything.

Our firsts are what build our surroundings and behavior as people. We go through these different scenarios to learn and experience how to react or what to do in similar future situations. Especially for young children everything that they are encountering for the first time is quite exciting and new at the same time.

However, not everything can be bright and happy, as many children from different backgrounds are forced into certain situations; their “firsts” could be more so of a struggle. The first-hand situations that we encounter as children may seem like distant memories as we start to grow up and take in different scenarios and people.

Many would say,

“My first time in the snow…”

“My first time climbing the stairs…”

“My first time watching a movie…”

All these “first times”, could occur to many people, but the experience and what you do in the situation is totally different. You shape your life and what path you will go down with the actions and decisions that you make in these “first time” scenarios.

In this photo it is seen that George Takei, the main character of the story, faces a challenge when coming to his new home in Los Angeles. There were no stairs in the internment camps that George and his family were previously staying in so he was still adjusting to the new obstacle he had to face. For the majority of people, stairs would not be a challenge to use, but this was George’s “first time” experiencing something so new and a little scary to him too.

In the end, the first time experiences that we have, whether it be as children or as adults, we all learn new things from each situation we encounter. The memories will become a part of our childhood and get stored in our heads as fun and exciting memories or, at other times, scary and new. Everyone’s childhood experiences and how they handled it are specials and dear to their heart. What’s your special childhood memory and what did you learn from it?