Le Dernier Cri

I am one of those people who holds onto everything. Notes from past classes, old magazines, trinkets from childhood and old clothing fill up my room and my closet. It is this hoarding of old clothing that is puzzling me. Why do I keep clothes that I will never wear again? Wouldn’t it be better to donate them to someone who needs them more or simply throw them out?\nWhen I think about these questions a little more, my answer is that if those garments represent something to me, I should keep them, even if they just hang in my closet or sit in my dresser. I am by no means advocating keeping everything you ever wore in the back of your closet, but keep those pieces of clothing that represent something. \nFor some odd reason, I still have that first shirt that made me feel cool when I wore it. I’ve had it since the sixth grade. It now calls the dusty old dresser in the corner of my room home because I have never had the heart to get rid of it.\nOur clothes represent a lot about who we are. Dress is the biggest indicator of who a person is and that identity is broadcasted to the rest of the world. Clothing tells us who we are, who we have been and who we someday will be. \nThere are those pieces of clothing that we wear once to a big event that we will never, ever wear again, but keep them as a reminder of that event. These are the dresses from proms, graduations and weddings that hang in closets never to be seen again. \nClothing can also serve as a means of recording history. Not history in a broad sense, like world history, but a more personal history. It documents how we grow, both physically and emotionally, and how we have changed in our lives. I know that I would not be caught dead wearing some of the stuff I sported in high school. (Head-to-toe American Eagle is not a good look anymore.) \nClothing gives us a way to document our experiences, our identities and our lives. It is our means of expressing ourselves to the world. Keep those items that mean something to you, even if it seems pointless. I bet someday in the future, you will be glad you kept that first “cool” T-shirt, even if it’s only because you can look at it and remember who you were. Have a little laugh, and then be glad to be who you are today.