I was skimming through some of my older photographs the
other day just to see what I have. Lately I've been taking inventory of what I
have and what I need to purge. I guess that it's like an early spring cleaning
exercise. So when I was looking through my old photos, I came across some
snapshots of my first visit back home to Georgia a few years ago. I'm always
taking pictures and documenting everything, so I wasn't surprised to see some
photos of my storage units that I used to have. Like I said, I take
pictures of everything and so this was a picture of the contents of the unit. I
know it may sound kooky, but at the time it was what I needed to do. It wasn't
about materialism at all...it was about remembering a part of my life.
I've written here from time to time about my struggles
early on in this experience of living abroad. Like a lot of people who go to
live in another country, I found that I had struggles with my identity. I know
that my "things" don't define me, but leaving everything behind to start
anew can liberating, and yet it can also be very unsettling. My reaction was
the latter. So when I went there to sort through some of my things, it was more
powerful emotionally than I thought it would be. It sounds cliche, but a part
of my life did seem like it was boxed up and staring right back at me as I
opened the door. It was good to see my very own things again after having spent
quite a while inside this new life that didn't feel like mine yet. I think that
my experience with moving to England was tinged with sadness over the sudden
loss of my mother. So when I opened that storage unit door, a bit of my life
"before" flooded back to me. It was strange. I didn't feel sad. I
instantly felt grounded again like everything was gonna be okay. I guess it was
like taking a look back...holding the memories close...and then walking onward
again. I enjoyed that trip home immensely. Who knew that a trip to the storage
unit would be so helpful :-)
Storage units are interesting places. I no longer have
mine, but it served its purpose to hold onto a few things for me...both
physically and spiritually. Mine was a place to store things that were
treasures to me and as an in-between place to bridge from one life to another.
Yes, sometimes they can also be a pack rat's paradise, but sometimes they are
just what you need when you're in transition in your life. I appreciate that I
had a place to keep things as I figured out my next steps and now I am fine and
thriving in this new country.
It's funny how photos can instantly take you back to
times past and reveal so much to you about yourself. I guess that is why I love
taking pictures, because they are like the pages of a diary in a way and can
reveal such truth...even about storage units.
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