Throwback Thursday

I've reached the point in my preparation for moving where I have to go back through the things I've already packed and whittle down my possessions even further. I've been combing through my things for three months or so now, in a constant state of de-cluttering and de-owning. I had only packed things I had decided I would definitely keep, but as the move nears I continue to reevaluate what is important. Yesterday I pulled out a plethora of pictures and memorabilia I had packed, having decided to keep trucking my nostalgia around with me. As I looked at old plaques, ribbons, and paper awards I knew there was no place for them in my life anymore. They are remnants of bygone version of myself that I have been clinging to for far too long. I need to embrace the person I am now and mold myself into who I want to be, instead of wishing for a second chance at seventeen.

And so I said goodbye to 3 more boxes of possessions.

I also found some old pictures that were taking up too much space, so I undertook the project of updating the picture album my grandmother gave me thirteen years ago and which I hadn't added to in nearly a decade. I spent the afternoon sorting through which pictures were worth keeping and placing them into some semblance of chronological order in the album. 

Here is a glimpse of my childhood: 

Kindergarten Kaitlin

baller status was established early

This was the team with the dolphin trainer coach who began my obsession with China, the Atlantic Bottlenose at the Indianapolis zoo. 

those bangs, though. yikes. 

I get jealous of my own hair when I look at this. 

But then it all got chopped off. 

This 5th grade progress report is the story of my academic career.
A "more serious approach" to math never happened. 

That's a thirteen year old progress report, not even a report card. I have moved six times since fifth grade and somehow it never occurred to me to go through my boxes and boxes of stuff and get rid of that. It's finally gone now. Today I've continued to de-clutter and de-own, but now I face a new set of challenges: shoes, purses, and bedding.