The Kidz
Last updated
Last updated
We are all born with an inner child. This inner child is the driving force behind our creativity, our curiosity, and our child-like sense of wonder. When we are kids, this inner kid is literally who we are: unapologetically creative, eager to create, and insatiably curious.
However, as we grow older, we begin to slowly detach from this kid, breaking ties with our creative selves to fit in in a society that values uniformity and a superficial sense of security over anything else. We stop believing there is space for creativity, we start to judge ourselves and we let others dictate how we should be in favor of “fitting into” the “real world” and its challenges.
Being apart from their adult counterparts for the first time, these kidz end up lost, wandering around the unfamiliar landscape we have come to know as Fort Gotten: the world where all our inner kidz live once they have been forgotten.
The Forgotten Children are our interpretation of our inner kids, the personification of our creativity, child-like wonder, and curiosity. They don’t know anything about their adult counterparts, they actually don’t know anything once they arrive in Fort Gotten, they just... forgot.
Once in Fort Gotten, they are liberated from all restraints from the “real world”. There are no adults enforcing rules, telling them how to dress or how they should look, there are only other kidz... so they can finally be what they truly are: creative.
The process of inner kid detachment may take months or even years, but to our kidz, it’s just an instant. In the blink of an eye, they’ll suddenly find themselves alone, with no recollection of their past life, no memories, no identity, and wondering if this is all a dream. Sudden flashbacks of their adult counterpart may pop up here and there but in an instant, they’ll be brought back to their new reality; alone and lost, in Fort Gotten.
Most kidz manage to find other forgotten kidz quickly, almost like there’s a strange force drawing them to each other. But not everyone shares this luck… there’s always an unlucky few who wander alone for days, or even weeks feeling lost. Afraid. Not knowing where they came from or where they’re going.
Because of this, most camps have created a special force (mostly conformed by scouts) dedicated exclusively to finding these lost kidz, in hopes that no one has to experience the distraught of being not only forgotten but also alone. No one should be left behind in the unknown lands of Fort Gotten, but with a mostly unexplored landscape, finding lost children is no easy feat.
Either by themselves or in groups… all kidz find out sooner or later, that there is only one thing everyone needs to work towards: Survival… and it usually goes much better by being together.
