Last week I was thinking about books you keep, but today it's more about the memories and the people. It's been pretty cold in NYC this past week, and I needed an excuse to stay in, so opened up a box of "stuff" from a closet.
It turned out to be some cards and letters from when I was in France for spring semester of my junior year. I had to snap a picture of one letter and send it to my friend--her fandom tastes haven't changed much over the years!--and I've put aside some from the family as well. They'll get a kick out of seeing what they were thinking of all those years ago!
It also made me think about who I was back then. Some of the people whose letters I saved were at Villanova with me, and I barely remember them, while some are connected again on Facebook. Sadly, at least one has passed.
But I had forgotten how important those letters were (yes, written and some on airmail paper! I don't think anyone had a home computer at that time for email.) to me at that time. They were a reminder and a touchstone at a time when it wasn't easy to write or call home and I was in a strange place.
As I read through them and smiled and wondered, I was thinking about the points not taken and who I was then and what she would have thought of me and my life choices.
Overall I'm pleased, and enjoy the connections of today that we take for granted with Facebook and Twitter and such these days.
But reading through those emails did make me wonder about all the points not taken, and who I might have become. It's not quite nostalgia, not quite like wistfulness or sadness. But it was kind of amazing to see the past in a bit of a new life. I now see the appeal of that Facebook Look Back--it shows you all the thens and nows. (Of course you have to post more on Facebook to take advantage of it!)
So I weeded out some letters and kept others--but mostly to share the memories with the writers. I don't think I'll be keeping the physical reminders. But maybe just one or two...
Hope you get a chance to look back on those memories and wonder what if...
Enjoy!