When asked what they want for a gift, most teens would say a CD, or maybe an iPod, but I want Legos. I received my first set for my fifth birthday, a tiny pizzeria with an umbrella and a delivery truck. Since then my collection has expanded immensely and I have built skyscrapers, constructed spaceships and designed submarines.

There is a small area in my house designated as The Lego Room. Beyond its door, I fantasize and govern my own small world of castles, frenetic metropolises, and thousands of Lego people. With Legos, the possibilities are infinite. Each time I enter The Lego Room, a new story is created. Once, a friend asked to tour this room. Amazed by my Star Wars models, he reached for a ship and accidentally toppled a restaurant, smashing it to pieces! This disaster became an opportunity to rebuild and I fashioned a sophisticated two-story food court with a McDonald’s, pizzeria, and drive-thru. It was better than the original!

Lego sets range from Star Wars to medieval castles to whatever you can imagine. Whenever I open a new box, a sense of awe overpowers me. I spread out the pieces and observe each tiny brick. An hour later, I am amazed that these individual pieces have interlocked to become a masterpiece.

Ideas for new constructions fill my head and I jot them down in a sketchbook. Legos represent a creative consistency in my life, much as an artist has his canvas and a musician, his violin. It isn’t easy keeping a thousand small people in line, especially when they can trade heads to conceal their identity! Legos have taught me to be an architect, engineer, governor, security guru, landscaper, coach, manager, customer service agent, buyer and economist.

Legos have provided building blocks of my future, developing my math skills and ability to follow intricate directions. As I build new worlds, brick by brick, I imagine my own possibilities and opportunities. Through the “lives” of my Lego friends, I have been able to act out elaborate experiences. They have served as a link between my childhood and manhood. My friends call me childlike and there is truth to that, but perhaps we should all find a way to keep in touch with our childhood. Legos is mine.