Whether it’s clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, or even a toy, most people have something they feel emotionally attached to. Some people, though, have had these sentimental items since before they learned to walk, and have kept them for so long because they cannot let go of them. These items can be connected to memories and stories that share a lot about a person and their life, and that is why we get so attached to them. 

     “I was about ten when I got a soccer shirt from my dad, and I was about eleven when I got princess pajamas and a green-ish blanket with snowflakes on it from him for Christmas. I hold onto these because when I was twelve my dad passed away and I was always like a daddy’s little girl and his princess, so I feel like even something small like that I would keep it just to hold onto him.” says Brenda Gonzalez, sophomore.

     For Brenda, these items mean a lot more to her than any other shirt, pair of pajamas, or blanket do because of the connection to her dad that the items give her. She keeps these so close to her because it reminds of her dad and that comfort she felt with him.

     “It’s a little blanket with a pig stuffed-animal on it. I got it I think when I was two years old, and I have always kept it for years. It has made it through moving houses like four different times and it has just stuck around, so I keep it with me.” says Bella Chapin, senior.

     Bella keeps her stuffed animal, not because it has a specific memory to go along with it, but because it has been through so much with her and has always stuck around. Many people have sentimental items that just go everywhere with them, not because it is memorable, but because it just feels right to have it with them.

     “My item is a baby blanket. I got it when I was super sick and in the hospital. I was going to die but then they saved me and so I have this blanket from the hospital, so it’s kinda cool. It’s soft and it stays cold so no matter what I can use it and it’s cold.” says Kade Nelson, senior. 

     Although the backstory behind Kade’s item isn’t all happy and exciting, it was still an important moment in his life that he wants to remember, and he does that by keeping the blanket. 

     Sentimental items can be used to remember the good, as well as the bad that has happened in someone’s life. It can show growth and remind us of things we have overcome in the past that have made us who we are today. Although some people like to call it “junk”, it really is a lot more than that.

[sno-poll id=”13422″ result_color=”#bf0d0d” tile_color=”#ffffff” align=”left” background=”on” background_color=”” border=”all” border_color=”#888888″ border_size=”1px” shadow=”on”]