I was cleaning out my garage yesterday and found a box of old letters from my high school girlfriend.

They were tucked behind some paint cans, and I hadn't seen them since I moved into this house about 5 years ago. I sat on the floor and read a few, and it was a real trip back to being 17. She wrote about her dreams of being a marine biologist and how much she hated her part-time job at the mall. It got me thinking about how people's paths change so much from what they imagine as kids. What's the most surprising old thing you've found while cleaning?

3 comments

3 Comments

verawhite22d ago

Honestly I never get the nostalgia thing with old stuff like that. It's just paper from a life you don't live anymore, you know? Like finding those letters is cool for five minutes, but then you're just a grown adult sitting in a dusty garage. My old plans were to be a pro skateboarder, but I found my old board and just sold it online. The past is the past for a reason.

wadem8921d ago

That idea about "a life you don't live anymore" is interesting, @verawhite. Do you ever wonder if holding onto some of that old stuff helps you understand who you are now, or does it really just hold you back?

hunt.nora16d ago

But what if you need that old stuff to see how far you've come? Like finding those letters shows you what you cared about then, and you can see what you care about now is totally different. It's not about living in the past, it's like having proof you actually grew up. Throwing everything out just makes your whole life feel like it only started yesterday.