As the topic came up of a childhood toy or object you loved as a kid I was kind of excited to write about something like that. Then, however, I realized I COULDN’T THINK OF ANYTHING! I was racking my brain trying to think of something–anything–I could write about and still stay truthful to the prompt, and then, it hit me! or, rather, my parents told me after I asked them. Now, before I say it, let me just clear something up. It wasn’t nerdy! Well, maybe a little but that’s besides the point. My toy was Yu-Gi-Oh Cards!

As a little kid my favorite show would have to have been YU-Gi-Oh. It was such an awesome show! It was about this card game, with secret magical power and history, made by a mysterious developer. The game was played with cards that, when played, would send out monsters to fight battles. The characters would go on cool adventures and beat bad guys, and let’s be honest, no six year old kid could resist that!

I was content and happy with the show until one faithful day when my little mind was blown by an advertisement, the day I found out you could be the one with the cards. As soon as the announcer had said his last syllable, I was basically already pushing my mom out the door so we could go buy what would be my obsession for the next few years of my life. From the first day on that I had the Yu-Gi-Oh cards, I couldn’t set them down. I had stashes of cards in my parent’s room, my room, and just about everywhere else. Basically every waking moment was spent on learning all of the rules of the game, building strategies, and building the “most bestest deck in the whole world”. With the cards, I felt like I was one of the heroes I loved so much from the show, I felt like I was the coolest ankle biter on the block. I felt happy.

Today whenever I see a kid playing with the same cards I had not too long ago, I look at them with a fond recollection. I remember the days I spent perfecting decks upon decks. I remember the months I spent working out the best strategies and learning new ones from the show. But most of all, I remember the years of laughter and smiles on my face when I had a set of Yu-Gi-Oh cards in my hand.