The strangeness of childhood

This morning I stumbled upon this quote by Maurice Sendak: “The magic of childhood is the strangeness of childhood.”

strange /strānj/
1. unusual or surprising in a way that is unsettling or hard to understand.

2. not previously visited, seen, or encountered; unfamiliar or alien.

I love this quote because it reminds us that the “magic” of childhood isn’t all super rosy, happy-all-the-time vibes. It is also unusual, unsettling, confusing, and unfamiliar. A child is confronting all of the complexities of being human for the first time. The world is an open book which feels both exciting and terrifying.

For me, the strangeness of childhood was tied to holding so many opposites simultaneously. The words and the actions. The playful freedom and the powerlessness. The light and the darkness.

The tension between those opposites formed me into who I am. My creativity, inspiration, humor, fear. Everything about me was built within that magic.

When I explore my stories, I try really hard to tap into and embrace that strangeness. Because I do believe childhood is magical — and I want to honor the magic of childhood in ALL of its complexity.

Now I’m going to go build a book from the tension between opposites. Wish me luck ;)