It’s funny how very alike your belongings can be to you. Clothes and accessories, specifically. On the outside, the mere surface, what do they say? Certainly not much. Your style and amount of money expenditure, maybe? But maybe they represent more than that. Take my bag, for example. Brown cross body bag from the junior’s section at Kohls, all studs and chains, with just a dusting of metallic paint on the synthetic leather. Totally BA, right? No, not really.
Once the handy metallic clasp is undone (representative of my laziness and need for utility, see?), out tumbles a hodgepodge of paraphernalia. A dainty floral notebook and pen set, two zippered coin purses--one empty, round Coach purse drowned in the classic interlaced “C” monogram and the other, a beaded red apple from China with the contents of a single dime to boast of; a full to bursting neon yellow and orange duct tape wallet, a hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works labeled, “I love mom;” a few loose, crumpled pieces of paper, a worn, green iPod Nano, and a few writing utensils—pens with curious company brands, a green highlighter, and a handy Ticonderoga pencil, barely used. Oh, and a freshly opened pack of Wrigley’s Doublemint gum. All in all, what you see is a relatively well equipped purse overall, right?. But how are these items so completely different from the hard exterior?
Consider the notebook first. A source for jotting down thoughts, stories in order to relive precious moments, and lists of all sorts—quite offbeat when paired with the hard, insensitive bag, no? Then there are the two coin purses. To begin with, why two coin purses, and at that, why both nearly empty? But as with pictures, anecdotes and objects go hand and hand. The Coach purse was a freebie obtained by the Coach-crazy mother from the start, and was in turn freshly mooched by the manipulative daughter. The beaded red purse was a gift from an aunt, used so often that the strap broke, but not often enough for the teenage owner to bring the pouch back out for a second life years later. Both empty, because of splurging on snacks at a driver’s ed summer course, and other because of its recent acquisition. Next, the duct tape wallet. A cheap, yet creative accessory, stuffed to the maximum width. The first thought that a reader might have is, stuffed to the maximum width? Dang, this girl is rolling in dough. But again, there is more than meets the eye. Once the wallet’s interior is inspected, you discover a main course of coupons and rewards cards with a side of money. And the duct tape itself? A product of volunteering at a library craft event.
So, so far we’ve learned that the owner of this bag is completely different from the hard exterior she presents. In fact, her belongings tell her story; they tell of thoughtfulness, a nostalgic side, frugality, partiality to name brands, slight craftiness, and a weaker self-control. Is it necessary to continue to analyze the writing utensils, hand sanitizer, and iPod? Probably not. It just goes to show: there is more to something than meets the eye.