What possessions do you treasure most?
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?
Los Angeles remains earthquake country. Wildfires have destroyed
thousands of homes in the last decade. During a crisis, what would I
grab? Photographs? Laptop? The answer, in this case, is not blowing in
the wind.
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?
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
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