We own so many objects. I just spent the last few days purging my library, cleaning my office, and restoring some empty space to my home office. Where do all these pieces of paper, odd books, extra copies of old ESL lessons, and strange souvenirs come from? How do I decide what to keep and what to let go?
While confronting the clutter of my own making, I rediscovered this great quote from an underappreciated Russian writer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn. “Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.” These wise words come from a lifetime of exile, persecution, and a search for personal freedom.
Many English students have often learned this hard lesson. Adult ESL students, often refugees seeking a new life to escape persecution, left their homelands with just two suitcases - and sometimes less. Luckier International students have also packed their lives in suitcases, seeking new experiences, knowledge and adventure in other countries. Doesn’t this ability to move, relocate, and start a new life count as a life skill?
Although I love traveling, I have also become quite comfortable in the same Westside Los Angeles home for over six years. It’s easy to forget the wisdom that our students have gained and can become lost in a sea of beautiful, sentimental, or practical objects. What objects would I take with me if I had to flee? What possessions do I treasure most? How would I decide what to keep, what to give away, and what to leave behind?
What about you? What would you take with you if you had to leave home and start all over? What possessions do you treasure most?
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