LEGOs -- Building and Rebuilding by Colin

LEGOs -- Building and Rebuilding by Colin - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

Writing a book takes a lot of knowledge. If I were to write a book it would have to be about something I feel I am an expert on. Even then, I’m sure quite a bit of research would still have to be done in order to make sure everything is correct. I would probably write a book on my favorite childhood toy, LEGOs.

LEGOs provide an almost endless amount of fun. The basic principle of using building blocks to create things has been used for years. Lincoln Logs, K’Nex, and Tinker Toys all had the same idea just using different ways to build. LEGOs, however, have been around shorter than all of them, except for K’Nex (invented in 1993), LEGOs have had more success than any of them. Started in 1938 by a Dutch carpenter, LEGOs were meant to be a simple way for children to be creative for a low cost.

Today, LEGOs are probably one of the greatest things that have happened to me. They gave me hours upon hours of building and rebuilding. LEGOs have actually grown their original piece inventory from just blocks of 2x2 and 1x6 to pieces of all shapes and sizes. Some pieces only come in certain sets while some pieces can be found in just about all sets. LEGOs are so different from every other building toy. Mega Bloks tried to create something very similar, but their pieces are not as high quality as LEGOs and they don’t fit together as well. The build structures are not made as well and they don’t have as much diversity as LEGOs do.

Aside from the good things that LEGO has to offer, there are a few bad things. Many of the pieces are very small and that makes it very hard to keep track of them all. I actually own a cart to be able to organize and keep track of them all. The recent upshot in LEGO’s success has also increased their prices. Licenses with Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Marvel made the price of LEGOs increase quite quickly. When I was younger getting a set for 8 cents per piece was average now a buyer would be lucky to get a Star Wars set for 10 cents per piece. Still, LEGO does provide an almost limitless amount of possibilities and that truly makes them worth the cost.

The history of LEGOs, their diversity of sets and themes, and the many ways to build and rebuild each set really does make LEGO a worthy subject to wrote a book about. At the end of the book, a section devoted to the different models others have created would be a fitting ending to a book about the continuing legacy of the world’s best building toy.