Childhood dream: playing music loud
I grew up on the outskirts of one of a major city in Ukraine. We lived in a 2 bedroom apartment, that was literally a 2 room apartment. There was a small kitchen, shower and toilet rooms, small hallway, and 2 rooms: living room where I slept on an unfolding couch, and a bedroom that was my mom's. The building was exactly as you would imagine Soviet concrete jungle to look like.
When I was 7, I was gifted this single speaker + cassette player. Below is the closest example I was able to find:
At the time, I was really into Rammstein, Korol i Shut, and Kino. And as a kid, there were very limited opportunities to turn that music up, and the player really couldn't even get that loud. So I've always had this dream, where I will live in a place where I will have the sound system that can get loud and I can play it as loud as I want to.
I've accomplished this dream quite a while ago now, but it popped in my mind as I was jamming to some music with the kids. All I could think about in the moment is how grateful I was and how much life has changed. And yet, despite its challenges, I look back so fondly at the childhood I had, and how the only place that childhood exists are my memories.
By the way, despite the news cycle moving on, the war in Ukraine is still ongoing. And if you would like to, there are many ways you can support regular people impacted by the atrocities.