---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a kid, we had to rely on our…"
description: "\"When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for entertainment.\" — Terry Brooks"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/terry-brooks-3252_creativity_when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-i_1658800.png"
---

#  When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for…

![“When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for entertainment.” quote by Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/terry-brooks-3252_creativity_when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-i_1658800.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/terry-brooks-3252_creativity_when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-i_1658800.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/terry-brooks-3252_creativity_when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-i_1658800.png)

> “When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for entertainment.”

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Children often turn to imagination for fun when resources are limited.

**In simple terms:** Kids use imagination for entertainment.

Key Takeaway

Encourage creative play.

Themes

imagination play resourcefulness

Mood

nostalgic reflective

Type

inspirational philosophical

When to use this quote

- childhood
- education
- low‑budget entertainment

Key Concepts

creative thinking psychological resilience

Questions to Reflect On

- How can imagination be harnessed for learning?
- What limits does lack of resources impose?

A Different Perspective

Imagination may not replace real‑world skills.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imaginations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginations/) [Imaginations Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginations-entertainment-735920/) [Kid Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kid-rely-735922/) [Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely/) [Rely Imaginations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely-imaginations-735918/)

## Related quotes

> [Television deprives children of their imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/television-deprives-children-of-their-imaginations/)

[Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/)

> [Even when we allow our imaginations to run wild on the joys of heaven, we find that our minds are incapable of conceiving what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/even-when-we-allow-our-imaginations-to-run-wild-on-the-joys-of-heaven/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [My husband, David Simon, and I make our livings using our imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/my-husband-david-simon-and-i-make-our-livings-using-our-imaginations/)

[Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/)

> [Reading fairytales to children expands their imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lepage/reading-fairytales-to-children-expands-their-imaginations/)

[Robert Lepage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lepage/)

> [Can we only love Something created in our own imaginations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/can-we-only-love-something-created-in-our-own-imaginations/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [Our thoughts and imaginations are the only real limits to our possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/our-thoughts-and-imaginations-are-the-only-real-limits-to-our/)

[Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/)

> [I feel like we are at a time of great creativity if we choose to embrace it as such, if we choose to engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-feel-like-we-are-at-a-time-of-great-creativity-if-we-choose-to/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [To be successful we must live from our imaginations, not from our memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/to-be-successful-we-must-live-from-our-imaginations-not-from-our/)

[Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/)

> [O never give me over to my own heart's desires, nor let me follow my own imaginations!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/o-never-give-me-over-to-my-own-heart-s-desires-nor-let-me-follow-my/)

[John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/)

> [“Imagination is paradise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/imagination-is-paradise/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [“Those who receive the most images into their memories have the most lively imaginations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/those-who-receive-the-most-images-into-their-memories-have-the-most/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/never-be-limited-by-other-people-s-limited-imaginations/)

[Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/)

> [People who work with me think I should cut my hair. They say casting directors are less likely to hire me with long hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-culkin/people-who-work-with-me-think-i-should-cut-my-hair-they-say-casting/)

[Rory Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-culkin/)

> [“Dullness. Only humans could have invented it. What imaginations they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/dullness-only-humans-could-have-invented-it-what-imaginations-they-had/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [What wild imaginations one forms where dear self is concerned! How sure to be mistaken!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/what-wild-imaginations-one-forms-where-dear-self-is-concerned-how/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

## More by Terry Brooks

> [“a kaleidoscopic, fragmented rush of images that exploded out of memory. They careened into her like an avalanche and swept her away,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/a-kaleidoscopic-fragmented-rush-of-images-that-exploded-out-of-memory/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [Might have, could have, may have, should have—the haves and have nots reduced to pointless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/might-have-could-have-may-have-should-have-the-haves-and-have-nots/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [“You spend so much time wondering who you are, don't you think? You flounder about, searching for your identity, when most of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/you-spend-so-much-time-wondering-who-you-are-don-t-you-think-you/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [“Writers need their writing; they need their imaginary worlds in order to find piece in, or make sense of, the real world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/writers-need-their-writing-they-need-their-imaginary-worlds-in-order/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [THE NAME OF THE WIND marks the debut of a writer we would all do well to watch. Patrick Rothfuss has real talent, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/the-name-of-the-wind-marks-the-debut-of-a-writer-we-would-all-do-well/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [If anything in your life is more important than writing - anything at all - you should walk away now while you still can.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-anything-in-your-life-is-more-important-than-writing-anything-at/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [We are constantly being put to the test by trying circumstances and difficult people and problems not necessarily of our own making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-are-constantly-being-put-to-the-test-by-trying-circumstances-and/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [The Golden Compass is one of the best fantasy / adventure stories that I have read. This is a book no one should miss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/the-golden-compass-is-one-of-the-best-fantasy-adventure-stories-that/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [I am incomplete without my work. I am so closely bound to it, so much identified by it, that without it I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/i-am-incomplete-without-my-work-i-am-so-closely-bound-to-it-so-much/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [We must nurture and love, if life is to have any real meaning. But First we must find a way to survive against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-must-nurture-and-love-if-life-is-to-have-any-real-meaning-but/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [When she cried, he would say, "there is nothing wrong with crying. Your feelings tell you who are. They tell what is important. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-she-cried-he-would-say-there-is-nothing-wrong-with-crying-your/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [Fiction writing is a twenty-four-hou r-a-day occupation. You never leave your work behind. It is always with you, and to some extent, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/fiction-writing-is-a-twenty-four-hou-r-a-day-occupation-you-never/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [It's better to die in pursuit of your dreams than to live a life without hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/it-s-better-to-die-in-pursuit-of-your-dreams-than-to-live-a-life/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [If you do not hear music in your words, you have put too much thought into your writing and not enough heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-you-do-not-hear-music-in-your-words-you-have-put-too-much-thought/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

> [If I have the means, I have the responsibility to employ them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-i-have-the-means-i-have-the-responsibility-to-employ-them/)

[Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

[Explore all 133 Terry Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/)

## More Creativity quotes

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/)

[Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/)

> [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/)

[John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/)

> [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/)

[Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/)

[M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/)

> [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/)

[Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/)

> [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/)

[Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/)

> [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/)

[Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/)

> [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/)

[Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/)

[Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/)

> [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for entertainment.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Terry Brooks"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-imaginations-for-entertainment/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Creativity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-imaginations-for-entertainment/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/terry-brooks-3252_creativity_when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-i_1658800.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/terry-brooks-3252_creativity_when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-i_1658800.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/terry-brooks-3252_creativity_when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-i_1658800.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When I was a kid, we had to rely on our imaginations for entertainment.” — Terry Brooks",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Terry Brooks",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When I was a kid, we...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-imaginations-for-entertainment/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-i-was-a-kid-we-had-to-rely-on-our-imaginations-for-entertainment/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
