Friday, October 31, 2014

The Mail Box

When was the last time you had an amazing meal?
As a college student, most of my meals fall somewhere on the spectrum between fast food, canned soup, Kraft Mac'n'Cheese, and Lunchables. However, October has been a month of fellowship and celebration. I was able to go to Austin, Texas on a brief vacation with my parents and grandparents. We shared delicious food and quality time (my love language): all ingredients for an amazing meal.

Taken 5 minutes ago by my desk
What's the best gift you've ever received?
One that sticks out in my mind across the last several years was from my roommate my freshman year in college (her senior year). She and I did not know each other beforehand and we have not kept in touch often since then. We were each busy with our own lives and would shyly chat for a few minutes each day, but we did not talk in-depth very often. At this time, I was dealing with homesickness and loneliness, so sending and receiving mail was the highlight of my week.

For Christmas that year, this sweet roommate put so much time and effort into my gift, no matter how often we talked or spent quality time together. She gave me a box in my favorite colors (black and white with maroon trim sewed on). The box was meant to hold the letters I kept from my family. On one side, she had stitched "MAIL" and on the other side, she stitched "BARUA," which is mail in Swahili (because I absolutely love Kenya, Africa). Inside the box was an Elvis postcard (my favorite music artist) and a Yorkie postcard (my favorite dog).

To make a long story short, I was incredibly touched by the love that my roommate put into the gift and the fact that she worked so hard to get to know me, even when I often set aside deep friendship in all of my rushing around. I still keep the mailbox on display in my room and it holds all of my letters.

For my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I received some wonderful homemade gifts from my mom and roommates that touched my heart (and... I also got a life-sized cardboard cutout of Elvis Presley. Thanks, guys). I also got the new iPhone 6 and almost fainted with the joy of it all.

What do you miss most about your childhood?
I think I miss most the imagination. I have a huge box full of all of the stories I wrote when I was a young child. All I needed was a brand new notebook and a fresh set of mechanical pencils and I was entertained for hours on end. There was an endless supply of stories and words and creative ideas in my childish mind.

Now I still love to write and there are still ideas and words and people working their way into my imagination, but I have to work harder to find and create them. I miss the freedom of expression that I had when I was younger.

What is your first memory of being truly excited? 
This is a difficult question because it's complicated to gauge a timeline of my earliest memories. I remember always feeling so excited when my dad got home from a long day at work. When I heard him shut the back door, set down his things, and call out, "I'm home!", there was nothing that could thrill me more than my childish relief at knowing my family was secure and together and filled with love.

What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
I remember buying a tiny Polly Pocket kit. If you grew up in the nineties, you know what I'm talking about. I loved tiny things.
Taken from Power House Museum

What are your answers to these questions? 

Three years ago: 5 Organizational Tips for College
Four years ago: Make Up Your Own Kind Gesture

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