My purse is what one may consider a shoulder bag or a mini purse. It is made of nylon fabric and is quite flimsy. There are visible scuffs on my purse from whatever it may have endured in the past three years and the stitching around the edges of the purse is pilling. Although this item is rough around the edges, the inside has a deeper meaning than what one may expect. A purse is like a human being. You see the outside, how it is being presented, how it is being carried. But what you don’t see is inside. You don’t see the baggage being carried and you don’t see the nostalgia being held.
To a stranger that walks past me on 7th Avenue, it may just look like a cheap bag that’s been through hell and back. Maybe they think it is holding my phone, lip gloss, and credit card at most. They probably think it makes me look cheap because it is not a designer bag. However, to the owner of this bag, it is much more than what the naked eye can see. My purse not only carries a variety of my personal belongings but also carries a heartful of my greatest memories.
I have owned this purse since 2020. During quarantine, I was easily influenced to switch up or elevate my style so I felt like I needed a purse as the first accessory to amplify my look. As a sophomore in high school with a minimum-wage job, I was not in a position to spend an absurd amount of money on a purse. So as any teenage girl would in the 21st century, I ordered a black mini purse from Amazon. When I first received the bag, I was unaware of how much it would go through and how long it would last me. I don’t only mean that physically since it was a cheap bag, but emotionally too.
This purse was brought with me when I was able to get my first covid vaccine. I was nervous, confused, and excited all at once. As a Type 1 Diabetic this was a huge deal for me as I was having to be so careful during the pandemic and had not seen any of my friends in a long time. This purse was with me when I met my best friend for the first time. We got dinner together at IHOP and went for what turned out to be an hour-long drive listening to our favorite albums. Little did I know the wild memories with her that were to come within the next few years. This purse carried the ticket to the last football game of my senior year. This night, I had a realization that I was growing up fast and life was not going to feel like this forever. I was about to leave my small-town life behind and start a new chapter in the big apple. This purse held my ticket to the Harry Styles concert, where I was able to see my idol perform on stage for the first time while sharing the moment with the people I love most, my mom and my sister. This purse was carrying my glucose tablets when I had the lowest blood sugar of my life and almost collapsed. I was alone and extremely panicked. This purse was carrying tissues when I moved to New York for college and I had to say goodbye to the people that meant the most to me, my family. Nothing was harder than having to hug them the tightest I ever have and walk away to start a new phase of my life without them.
When I purchased this purse, I thought it was just an accessory for me. Something to add to an outfit, something to carry my phone and my wallet. But now, I realize it has been with me through my best and worst days, carrying everything I needed exactly when I needed it, and I had begun to form an emotional attachment to a purse. Most people probably would not expect themselves to form a connection with a cheaply made handbag, but here I am. I still take this purse everywhere I go to remind me of good memories from the past and to have it by my side to continue to make new ones.
I noticed the importance of this bag when I was packing for college. What was worth taking and what should be left at home was a harder decision than one may think. When it came down to accessories I knew I could not take everything I has acquired over the past 3 years. As I am going through my purses and separating pieces into designated piles, it hit me that this item was sentimental and that it did not feel like something that could just be left behind. I needed the purse to come with me to continue its legacy as my most iconic handbag. My bag needed to experience the wonders of New York with me, and hopefully not get taken from me on the subway. My bag has now met all my new college friends, has been to Coney Island, has been 10 feet away from Harry Styles at a movie premiere, and is now next to me hanging off my desk chair waiting for me to take it on the next adventure.
Ordinary items that have little to no value to the naked eye can hold an endless amount of value for someone and you may not even know it. My first purse has been with me through the good, bad, and ugly, but three years later I still use this purse every single day. At first, I never thought too much about the nostalgic value this bag held, but I now recognize that I have an emotional attachment to an inanimate object and that has more importance in my life than anyone may ever know.