What if our childhood selves knew something we didn’t?

I – like many a Millennial child – played The Sims a lot in the early 2000s. It was basically a socially-acceptable way for older kids to use their imaginations to play with animated Barbies.

And I spent a lot of time doing that. Like, A LOT.

Looking back on it now (thanks to some Insta algorithm nostalgia), I’m noticing there was actually a pretty obvious trend in how I spent my time playing.

I played with big families for like all of 10 minutes. I played with huge houses and lots of money for 20. Sometimes I’d give non-monogamous bachelorettes or career-driven power couples or even aliens a go for a little while.

But those scenarios were only ever fun in theory and set-up. Once I started actually playing? Almost instant interest loss.

The scenario I actually could sit down and play out for an entire Sim lifetime?

Usually a single mother in an intentionally small house with a knowledge aspiration who made money by writing and gardening.

I could play that shit for literal human days (which, as any true Sim player knows, is a long fucking time after the initial house build).

Realizing this – remembering this – made me wonder if maybe Little Me was already programmed to know what she wanted before I consciously realized it.

Living small. Independence. Staying home. Earning unconventional income. Having agency over an entire (Sim) day and not just the non-working hours.

What fun was it to play where they went to work for a full day and came home needing all of their fucking needs taken care of with no time or energy for fun Sim stuff?

Pretty funny metaphor looking back at it now. Little Bailee didn’t realize she was already becoming the big weirdo she is today.

But yeah, there were clues.

How many breadcrumbs are there from our childhoods that led us to where we’ve ended up today? How many were directing us to where we’re still going?

I guess I’ll consult my Zoo Tycoon play style and get back to you soon.

XO – Bailee

November 6, 2026