Nostalg-uh...why do I have this?

But seriously guys...where the hell did this come from?

I've spent the last two days at home cleaning out my room, and boy am I enjoying this little trip down memory lane. I vaguely remember getting rid of a few things before I left for college, but apparently I didn't do a very good job because I've donated or thrown out five or six garbage bags of stuff since I got here. While there are many things that I want to keep, I've realized that I was a huge packrat, and getting rid of things is a skill I really need to work on.

On the plus side, this cleaning spree brought back many fun childhood memories, and I enjoyed laughing at some of the things I thought were important when I was younger. I know that the passage of time helps people realize that they don't need to hold on to certain things, but I'm really scratching my head over why I needed to keep troll dolls, Polly Pockets, incredibly confusing/overly embellished dance costumes, fake Kate Spade bags, a stuffed Ewok that I can't remember acquiring, and about twenty pounds of Beanie Babies. Remember how we thought those were going to be valuable collector's items someday? Yeah, that didn't happen.

And then there are the diaries. There's nothing quite like reading an old diary--it's two parts Oh God, I Don't Even Want To Throw This Away Because It's So Embarrassing to one part This Is Hilarious, I Was Such A Weird Kid. I'm impressed by how much detail I managed to record (wondering who you had a crush on for three days in 7th grade? I can definitely tell you), so I guess it was good practice for writing fiction and may even come in handy someday should I feel the need to join the recent horde of people writing memoirs. But for now I think I will put all the old diaries somewhere they won't be found...

I did find some cool things I'd forgotten about, like a hand-carved jewelry box from Morocco and a silver dollar from 1922 that my grandfather gave me! And probably best of all, I found space in my closet for things that I actually wear and use. Though I did keep that stuffed Ewok--it was too funny to throw out.