Hot Wheels have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I played with them in school, raced them with friends, and made up stories with every car. I didn’t collect them like everyone else I collected the ones I loved. My dream cars. The ones that felt special. And I never kept them in the box. I used them. I played with them. I lived with them.

As I got older, I kept collecting. When I started my full night job in 2015, I still bought Hot Wheels but instead of displaying them, I threw them all into a big box. I didn’t think much of it at the time. They were just “there,” waiting for the right moment.

Then life changed.

In 2019, like most of my things, I had to sell almost everything I owned to survive. My Hot Wheels box was gone. Or so I thought.

When I moved into my new home in 2022, I found something in my old room at my dad’s house the box. My childhood Hot Wheels. The ones I thought I’d lost forever.

That moment meant more than I can explain