So I have a guilty pleasure. Hi my name is Ali and I’m a reality TV aholic. (Hi Ali!) I know those shows are completely ridiculous but sometimes it’s refreshing to experience the drama on TV rather than in my own life. This week, when I watched the new episode of The Bachelor, I became convinced that Brad Womack and my ex-boyfriend have a creepy resemblance. There are very few photos of that relationship still remaining but I do have them tucked away. There was one in particular from a night out in Hoboken, NJ that I thought would prove that I’m not crazy in thinking they look alike so I decided to rummage through my memory box to try and find it. However, as I went through everything, I got a little side tracked.
Basically, I have a large Tupperware container that over the years has become filled with all the things I want to keep from the special moments in my life. I know I’ve mentioned before that I’m a pack rat but if you could see the contents of this box, you would know how much of a sickness it really is. It’s been such a long time since I really went through those things and I have to say, I’m just so happy to have it all.
There are award certificates, high school football signs, Gamma Phi Beta mementos, and old concert and sporting event tickets. There’s a card from my best friend during our first year of college when we went to different schools that starts off “Sup *uckhead” (now that’s love!) and a Valentine’s Day card from my “Original Crazy Roomie”. I’ve saved countless thank you notes for baby showers, wedding gifts, Christmas presents, and work. There are cards from boys who had crushes on me and boys who loved me. I have cards congratulating me on my PSU graduation, wishing me a happy birthday, and hundreds of cards from my parents all signed with “You’re our favorite daughter” (I win by default because I’m their only daughter). There are cards and letters from my aunt who passed away, a whole separate box of dancer mail from THON, and pictures of family and friends. There are postcards written by ex-boyfriends from Bali and Siena, pictures of past relationships from those cheesy photo booths, and cards signed “you might be worth keeping around for a little while” (didn’t realize at the time how true that one would be!). I have homemade thank you notes made by campers from my summer camp job, construction paper cards from my little cousins, and every picture and card my god daughter has ever given me. There is even a great Barbie 21st birthday card from my sorority big sister that came with a “license to have fun” for Little Ali (thanks Col!). It’s my whole life down to one box.
Of course I could go on for days with all the things I have saved but I definitely enjoyed getting to go through everything. I talk a lot about changing and wanting to change but I don’t really talk about the amazing things that I do have. I have the type of friends that most people would kill for, my family is in a league of their own, and I am without a doubt fantastic. Confidence comes from being happy with who you are and somewhere along the line, I realized that I am pretty damn happy. Going through everything in my memory box was just another reminder of how ridiculously lucky I am.
I never did find my Brad Womack look-a-like ex boyfriend picture but I gave up the search. Suddenly that didn’t seem that important and it's probably better it says buried anyways. But I did find that all this started with my reality TV obsession but ended with the realization that reality is better than TV. Sure there is drama and negative stuff in my life but when I look back on all the happy times, I know that it is all worth it.
“If only we’d stop trying to be happy we’d have a pretty good time.” – Edith Wharton
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