5 Reasons Why Your Personal Objects Are So Important

My Light Blue Pencil Case

Yesterday, while organizing the old school books in my room, I found my old pencil case. It’s something I always take with me if I have to write and study. I don’t remember when I got it, since it’s been with me forever.

I immediately thought of a nice meeting I had some time ago at a library. I was working on a paper, and I was approached by a man who told me: “Lucia, is it you? I recognized you because of your pencil case. God, you still have it, how old is it?” We were in the same class in high school, and it was great to meet him again.

I loved that moment and I realized that objects sometimes tell our story.

In fact, that case reminds me of a special time of my life, and of the value, I still give to teamwork (there are sentences about it written on the case, I know them by heart). It reminds me of the pleasure of studying and of my family. It shows how much I like it's color: a light blue.

It reminds me of people, habits, and emotions. The anxiety I felt at school before a test. The noise that the metal case made in my school bag, and it was like a warm company.

What is the importance of the objects we like, and we keep with us for a long time? Here are 5 good reasons to look at your personal objects in a different way.

1. Objects tell stories. They can help you imagine things. An object can be and can represent anything. By looking at objects, you can see things from different points of view, while you think about how they were used, and who used them.

2. They remind you of the person who gave it to you, of the moment you received it, or of the time when you used it. They remind you of your energy and the energy of the world around you.

3. They really show who you are. They tell the story of your life and of the life of a community, they can even reflect the story of an entire culture or nation.

4. They help you share. We all like to share stories about what’s important to us in our lives. Artifacts are one way to help you understand your place in the world. By relating a story to an object, you are able to emotionally connect with others, who may or may not have gone through a similar experience.

What does an object represent? Who owned it? What’s it made of? How old is it? What’s its story?

5. Objects transcend time and space. When an object is passed on to another generation, that generation bears the responsibility of keeping its memories alive. It’s as if the original owner passes his or her story through an object of great personal importance.

Therefore, my light blue pencil case has an incredible value to me, and it helped me connect to another person I met some time before.

It has a life of its own, and I can’t control it!

Look around you: what objects tell the story of your life?

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