10+ Images That'll Make You Say 'Remember When?

5. They Weren't Even That Great of Markers but We HAD to Have This

This art set recalls only memories of dried-out markers, crusty paints, and pastels more akin to chalk than anything else very artistic. Actually, though, we paid very little attention. Using our broken crayons and brittle colored pencils, we were too preoccupied posing as Picasso. Still, there's little doubt that this identical box represented childhood optimism—where, once you grabbed hold of this thing, almost everything felt feasible. This truly was like a treasure chest full of rainbow-colored visions and amazing creative works' promise. The sole problem here is that nothing here has ever truly worked. Still, it did not stop us from hankering over these enormous art sets. The sheer variety—so many colors, so many different kinds of painting tools all in one place—was intoxicating. The dubious quality at best was irrelevant. The potential mattered. Every time we opened the box, we felt as though we would produce something truly remarkable. Though in our thoughts we were creating masterpieces, the truth might have been a page full of scrawls with half-working markers. These sets inspired our inventiveness and resolve even as they taught us about disappointment, undoubtedly. We discovered how to make due with what we had and how to find the possibilities in less than ideal instruments. And occasionally, just sometimes, we would discover that one ideal marker or crayon made all the difference. These painting sets were, in many respects, a metaphor for childhood itself: full of promise, often difficult, but always an adventure.