Everything I needed to know as a child and everything I need to know as an adult, I learned on a swing. Whether it was a front porch swing or a metal chain linked swing, majority of my greatest stories somehow involve a swing. From swinging, I not only learned how to fly, but I found a sense of freedom that was easy to obtain no matter where I was in life. All I need was a swing.

1. Swinging taught me to be a friend.

In most movies and in real life, a lot of childhood friends were made on a playground at or near the swings. The same was the case for me. The swings were the hot item on my playground, so you made friends with the people waiting in line with you because you were not quite fast enough to out race the upper classmen quite yet. You bonded with the others in line so eventually, when you made it to the swing, you would share with your new friend. As you got older, you may have realized you can have more than one person on a swing…it just does not always work out. So you end up on the ground in a heap of your friends laughing at how genius but dumb your idea of having two people sit with two people standing on one swing actually was. But it was worth the effort and the memories because in that moment nothing else really mattered.

2. It taught me to trust.

There is a great deal of trust when using a swing. You hope the chains are strong enough to support you as you glide higher and higher into the sky. You hope the giant beams of wood or metal holding the swing are strong enough to handle your attempts to flip over the support of the swing. And from trusting the swing on the playground, it moved into trusting others and that trust comes in all different forms, just like the different parts of the swing you trusted as a child.

3. It taught me how to listen.

Swinging always provides time to listen and actually get to know the deep thoughts of others. For my friends and I, swinging was the time we could talk about anything, as not only we could talk, but where things got too emotional (at least in my case) it gave me something else to focus on. Whether it was telling stories about the day or trying to solve the mysteries of the world, a swing was always a quiet constant.

4. It taught me to tell stories.

As much as I listened to my friends while we were swinging, it provides the opportunity to tell stories and talk about pretty much anything under the sun. Whether you are creating an imaginative story with a friend, or just sitting there talking about your fears for the future, swinging helped keep a constant present while kept the atmosphere comforting.

5. It taught me stand my ground.

If you were a younger student, chances are if you got a swing first you probably had a run in with an older or bigger student. To keep the swing, you had to stand up for yourself. By standing up from someone bigger than you, you started to develop skills which are important as you grow up. Standing up for yourself allows you to move on to be able to defend others, which in a life skill which we all need to utilize more.

6. It taught me to how to fly.

If you lay back when swinging, especially at night, you get that sensation of become part of the sky. Swinging taught me how to fly and to never settle. Swinging was the first way most of us experience free falling, and that feeling is one of the best. That moment of brief suspension in the air before falling and rising again, is as close as someone us will ever get to actually flying and in those moments you feel free. And with never settling, I never actually stop on a swing. I also jump off at the last possible second, never actually settling back into a resting place on my swing and experiencing a moment of brief “flight”.

7. It taught me to always keep some childish aspects.

Swinging always reminds me of what it was like being young and innocent. There is some part of me which still exists where I am swinging. Once I hit the swing, all responsibility and anything else which bothers me seems to shrink, at least for a moment. When I am swinging, there is nothing pressing that needs to get done right at that moment. I am allowed to relax and my mind to wonder, imagining all the different possibilities. It allows for that brief escape to allow me to regroup and remember who I was and how that part of me still, no matter how small exists.

8. It taught me to slow down.

If you have every stopped abruptly on a swing, it hurts. Swinging taught me to appreciate what is around me and also to slow down and to take life as it comes. Like the swing, there is nothing wrong with appreciating everything at a slower pace on Main Street rather than always living on Wall Street.

9. It taught me to take chances.

Whether I was trying to flip my swing, hang upside down in the seat, or jump from a ridiculous height, I was always taking a chance. What's the worst thing that can happen if you jump from too high of a height? You might fall and break something or totally wipe out, but the best? You stick the landing and have a great story to tell all who were not there. Just like the swing, in life you have option all of the time of whether you should take a chance or play it safe. And like the swing, sometimes you jump and take the chance which ends in being a horrible or great decision. But no matter the outcome of the change, it helps you to grow. And someday might make a great story to tell.

10. It taught me to let go.

Before you can take a change, you need to let go. In the case of the swing, to jump you need to let go of the chain and trust the outcome. In life, you have to let go of the past or things holding you back in order to grow and move on. Whether it is an object, place, or person sometimes letting go is necessary. It is not always easy, but it is part of taking a chance and learning about yourself and what you want in life.

11. It taught me about myself.

Through all of the different things swinging has taught me, the most is about myself. From the different skills I have learned, it developed me into who I am. As humans we feel the need to classify ourselves, but we never just think about who we are behind all of the classifications society places on us. While sitting on a swing, I can just be myself, not think about anything of significance, and not have to worry about anything.

I grew up on a swing, from a back porch swing, to a playground swing, and I would not change that for the world.