If you have written anything regularly, then you know the term “writer’s block” is no joke. Everything seems to be going well, and then the block comes along. Suddenly, you have no idea what to write about. You read the articles written by others, and think “Wow, I wish I had thought of that”, but it’s too late. It has already been written. Just like other subjects, writing LEGO related articles regularly is no different. The struggle is real.

Even though I’ve had a big list of topics to choose from, I have been the victim of this writer’s block. I kept making excuses, said it was summer time, it was too hot, I wasn’t able to think properly etc. etc. Deep down, I knew I was struck with the block, and it bothered me. I did write the occasional article, but not as many as I’d like.

And then, when I was having my regular morning chat with my dad, talking about the funny videos we’ve watched on the web, something happened. A muse showed up, and told me “Hey, here’s something to write about. It’s not like what you usually write, but it’s better than nothing, right?”

So here we are, here I am, ready to tell you a little bit about something different.

Funny Videos

Let’s face it, we all do it. When we get bored at work, or have nothing to do at home, we go on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms, and watch videos, look at memes, and share them with our friends. Sometimes what others call “funny” isn’t funny at all, but we watch them anyway.

Some of the videos that affect me the most are the ones with animals. I’m not talking about cats, dogs, birds – pets, in general. No, the interaction between wild animals and humans, it always fascinates me. Yesterday, for example, I saw a man in a swamp full of alligators, playing with them. They were playing for crying out loud! The alligators were head bumping just like cats – well, snout bumping to be exact. Each and every one of them was swimming around this man. It was beyond words.

Walk Down Memory Lane

The video took me back. Waaaay back. It reminded me of my first dream with a wild animal. It was right after I watched Free Willy. At the time, we lived in a coastal city, and I used to dream about having an orca, playing with it, swimming with it, and seeing the world on its back. Of course I was too young to know such a thing wasn’t possible, but that’s the beauty of dreams, right? The only limit is your imagination. Huh, I wonder where I heard that one before…

A few years after, I had the chance to watch Balto. It reminded me of how I felt about wolves when I was about 6 years old. Regular kids wanted dogs, I wanted a wolf. When people (by people I mean adults) asked me if I meant a husky or a German shepherd (both of which are loosely translated as wolf-dogs into Turkish), I answered no. I wanted a real wolf. There was this series of movies I loved back then, a medieval warrior with a wolf (!) as a companion, and I wanted one for myself.

Today I wonder how I’d react if I came face-to-face with a real wolf, back then. I’d probably be too scared to even look at a dog. But again, the beauty of being a child is being ignorant enough to not be scared of anything, right?

Growing Up

Whether it’s true or not, I’ve always felt I had a connection with living things. As I grew older, I even created my own philosophy when approaching animals. “I have no harmful intention towards it, so why should it hurt me?” If I had any doubt, or even a hint of fear, I left the creature alone. I believed (still do, by the way) that it would be able to sense it, and attack, bite or sting me. I never took unnecessary risks, but I could never help myself from “rescuing” critters in need.

Because of this approach, I was able to hold snakes, lizards, chameleons, spiders, tarantulas, frogs, as well as some weird looking big insects that I don’t even know the names of. There’s only one critter I want to hold so badly that I wasn’t able to, my white whale, if you will. A scorpion. I only came across it once as an adult, and because of a moment of doubt, I let it go.

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I know what you must be thinking: Is she out of her mind? Well, the answer to that question is yes, obviously 🙂 But like I said, it’s a lifestyle, a way of looking at the world. What was that scene? A blind man walks into a heavy fire zone saying “I am one with the force, and the force is with me”. I just feel connected to living things, so why should they harm me?

Of course I still feel uneasy when I see a cockroach walking towards me. They creep me out. But I would never kill one unless it “invades” my house – my territory.

Yeah, I’m crazy. What can I say, we’re all a little mad here.

LEGO?

If you’re still reading, you’re probably thinking “Ok, this is a LEGO blog, why on earth is she telling us about her childhood memories?” Though I bet you already know the answer to that, too.

While I may not be able to swim with alligators, play with mountain lions, travel the world on an orca, or surround myself with spiders, snakes or scorpions, my sigfig can do all of these things. I guess that’s the reason why she’s the subject of most of my pictures. For a short time, during a photoshoot, I transfer my soul and mind into her, and see the world through her eyes. I have never been to LEGOLAND, but thanks to my friend in the UK, my sigfig was able to visit it. While I didn’t get a chance to play in the snow in the last decade, my sigfig felt its cold up close.

I have 5 very close friends scattered around the world, and I doubt we’ll ever get the chance to get together and have a drink, but thanks to our sigfig exchange, we can do many things together.

So yes, I like collecting minifigures, I like photographing them, and I love seeing others build amazing models with them. But for me, the most important thing LEGO brought to my life is life itself. It made it possible for me to do things otherwise impossible. Through the incredible community on IG, I’ve had a chance to meet amazing people. I’ve learned many things from them, about photography and about LEGO. Heck, because of one of them, I even wrote two simple books about toy photography. In a way, she started my writing career, and I was able to continue it because I found about the existence of FireStar Toys – again, through Instagram.

End of the Road

Well, I did warn you it was going to be different, right? What can I say, the muse still must have been sleeping when he came to visit me. Still, if you’d like to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts about how you feel towards your LEGO collection, or how it makes you feel. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the next time my muse decides to pay me a visit, he’ll have more LEGO related subjects for me 🙂

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