So that’s why Elsa writes so many stories!

_Elsa_

It’s getting late and Elsa really needs to get off the computer. Her phone rings and it’s Tiffi calling. 

“Hi Elsa, have you been able to find a way to get back the magic from childhood?” asks Tiffi. “I’ve been looking online but I can’t really find anything useful to share with Santa and the gang. What about you?” 

Elsa shares with Tiffi that she found a whole bunch of articles on make believe as adults.

“Yes, I found some really good articles that I can share with you,” says Elsa. “I also found some really good information on the inner child and I remember learning about that in school. But the best and most interesting article that I found has to do with having an imaginary friend as a child and how it relates to adult life.” 

Elsa tells Tiffi that she will send her all the information but she wants to read to her what she just found online about adults and imaginary friends. 

‘It is very rare that adults have imaginary companions. But there are a few different types of behaviour that could be considered a form of imaginary friendship. For example, adult authors can be seen as prolific creators of imaginary friends in the form of characters. That’s because their characters have personalities and minds of their own, and authors often report their characters leading the writing rather than vice versa.  

Adults who had imaginary friends, meanwhile, report that they are more creative and imaginative than those who did not. We also know that they are better at describing a scene that they have constructed in their imagination. This could be because they were more imaginative to start with and/or that playing with an imaginary friend in childhood helped boost such capabilities.’ (Source) 

“OMG!,” Elsa says. “Tiffi do you realize what I just learned about me? I had an imaginary friend as a child. Her name was Holly and my mother told me that I didn’t want to let go of her. I started school when I was 4 years old, 4 months shy of my 5th birthday. My mother told me that I had to let Holly go because the kids would laugh at me if I talked to her in school. Guess I listened to her and I can’t remember back that far but I must have been sad to let go of her. 

Tiffi I have to reread you a part of what I just read. It’s me!” 

… adult authors can be seen as prolific creators of imaginary friends in the form of characters. That’s because their characters have personalities and minds of their own, and authors often report their characters leading the writing rather than vice versa. Adults who had imaginary friends, meanwhile, report that they are more creative and imaginative than those who did not….  

“Now I understand why I am writing so many stories,” says Elsa. “OMG Tiffi! Are you my Holly who has had a name change now that I’m an adult? Is it possible? Is that why I can relate to you so much and why I wrote so many stories about you?” 

Tiffi can totally understand what Elsa just said. She believes that this is why her best friend is such a good story teller. She asks Elsa if they need to share this information with Santa and the rest. Elsa is so excited to learn that her magical imagination never left her. It just got side tracked and now it’s back!

And that’s how this story ends. 

But does it?

Do you really think that this could be the end of the story?

Why you ask?

Because I might have to visit Never, Never Land next! Care to join me?

Start at the beginning – A story about childhood imagination and make believe

DieOmimi

Your stories are great @Elsa. I love reading them so much.

When my 4-year-old granddaughter is with us on Fridays, I am always amazed by her creativity and ideas. Also to hear her imagination when she builds entire cities from simple building blocks and then tells me who lives in which building. 

I don't know when my phase was, where I had less imagination and became more "reasonable". My parents told me that as a big sister I had taken on responsibility at a very early age. Perhaps this is the case with the oldest children of a family. You had already written a very instructive story about it.