Selling My Youth - PT 2

 Part of my journey of growing older, is realizing that not everything that I've accrued over my 37 years, are things that I need to keep around. 

I was able to connect with a local vintage shop called LoFi ATX, and Hannah was sweet enough to take the most popular themed keychains off my hands. Think Mickey Mouse, Garfield and vintage Tamagotchi goodness. On the way to the shop, I was slightly worried that I would regret or even miss these small keepsakes from my childhood. Would I feel the somewhat familiar tinge of regret that I had felt so many times before? 

Sometimes it's harder than you'd think to sell an amazing vintage piece that no longer sparks the joy deep inside my heart, but also slightly didn't want to let go of yet. I collect and sell vintage for a reason; I love it! 💖

One thing helped this almost indescribable feeling. While I was waiting for Hannah to go through my collection at the shop, I was browsing all of the amazing vintage they had there and finally took a little seat in their cute lobby area. As I was waiting, I heard one of the customers (someone I would assume in their 20's, as most of the customers were younger hip types), ask if the keychains were for sale. Hannah replied that she was purchasing them now, so they would be for sale at the shop eventually, but not yet. 

This made me feel unbelievably warm and fuzzy inside. The things of my youth will be bringing joy and happiness and maybe even a few fond memories to others. Isn't that also part of growing up/wiser/older? 

Somehow, selling pieces of my youth went from something I was excited about, then hesitant about, to content with. That seems like a strange concept for someone who spent so much time and attention gathering a collection of 137 keychains over a 10 year span of her most formative years. These things felt, at the time and for a long time, like little pieces of my personality and loves and interests. I'm not going to mention the people who gifted me so many of these silly little tokens of their love and affection. The story would take too long and make me ugly cry, and I'm not ready for all of that yet. 

I think that growing up and changing, losing parts of us that no longer serve us, it's all part of growing older. Our memories of these people, places, and things - it's true - the memories live in our hearts and minds. We definitely don't need 137 little plastic reminders to feel and show us that, now do we?