things

so i love knick-knacks.

knick-knacks and keepsakes and mementos and little things that may not mean anything but can still contain multitudes. i collect ticket stubs and doodles from my notes in class and fortunes from fortune cookies. i collect bits and bobs and everything in-between.

i collect things.

i collect memories.

now call me sentimental, call me a hoarder, call me whatever you see fit. i collect the things that help me remember. i collect confetti and tickets and wristbands from concerts i’ve been to because i can still see the confetti falling through the air and the ticket being scanned and the wristband being secured onto my wrist. i collect paper fortunes to remind myself of the little proverbs that keep me grounded. i collect the things that help me remember.

i don’t know when my little knack for keeping these things started. maybe it was keeping the fortunes in my phone’s translucent case after forgetting to throw them away. maybe it was the little build-a-bear heart i used to carry in the front-right pocket of my jeans on test days because i was sure it would give me good luck.

maybe it was seeing all the little bits and pieces of life that no one seemed to bat an eye at and decided to give them purpose after all.

the little plastic and metal bits are only enough to fill an old jewelry box, and the paper fortunes house in a little starbucks frappuchino glass. but i also have the glass bottle from the very first orange cream soda i had after my grandfather died. i still have the glass coke bottle i bought from the coca-cola museum in vicksburg where it was first bottled. i still have the glass dr. pepper bottle i bought at the piggly wiggly across the street on the last day of msa art camp.

i keep the things most people throw away because i tie far more meaning to them than i should.

there’s this quote that goes “nostalgia is a dirty liar that insists things were better than they seemed.” it sticks with me years after first reading its words. i’ve always been one to romanticize, to idolize, to reminisce. the past has always been this distant little paradise, a vacation destination i revisit only in late nights and dead silences.

so, maybe nostalgia is a liar. maybe keeping all these little trinkets is just my way of telling myself things were better than they actually were. maybe keeping the happy things is how i try to forget the sad things.

maybe i just like having little reminders to show me how far i’ve come since first collecting this or that, and maybe they remind me of all the happy little things i have left to collect in my life.

Author: Madison Cox

madison: known for being very loud and very short and also a little sad. finally embraced her inner hipster. typically can be found listening to music or writing something. very fond of sweaters, hugs, and chucks. thinks capital letters are overrated. enjoys typing like a child but speaking like an adult. really wants to write books one day. View all posts by Madison Cox