Remembering Who You Are: An Important Story About a Pair of Earrings

I have a special story to tell you about a pair of earrings.

Our experiences in life really change who we are, don’t they? It often happens without us realizing it. Years later you look back and feel like who you used to be wouldn’t recognize who you are now.

Growing up, I was a creator. A free spirit. An artist. Spontaneous.

The person I was growing up wouldn’t recognize the person I am now. I am quite certain of that.

When Austin and I got married, we had very little. Our income was tiny and we were barely making it most months. Neither of us had any career skills worth much and we struggled to find anything better than minimum wage or labor-intensive jobs.

For years, we struggled to get ahead.

I became who I am today. I focused on becoming disciplined and structured. I counted every penny we made and budgeted so strictly so that we wouldn’t go into debt. Looking back, I realize how difficult it was. In the moment, I was just completely focused on doing the very best we could.

I can see now how it changed me. I pushed down the spontaneous, free spirited aspects of who I am. There was no room for those things, or at least I felt like there wasn’t.

You might think I have regrets about those years, but I don’t.

We did what we had to do to create a better life for ourselves. We saved every dollar we could and were able to purchase a very inexpensive house. We worked jobs that we hated so that we could afford for Austin to finish college. We struggled through times of mental illness and made it out together.

The last six years have been hard, but we are better for it.

So what does this have to do with a pair of earrings?

Four months ago, life changed again. Austin finished his degree and got his dream job. We sold our house and moved to a new city. I was been able to pursue blogging full time (which was my dream) and see an income start to grow from it.

I went into a shop after we moved and found to most beautiful pair of earrings for $12. So pretty, right?

These earrings brought back a flood of memories. I used to wear all kinds of fun and fabulous earrings in high school and college, back when I was an art student and had very few cares in the world. They reminded me of who I was. Like there was a part of me that had been buried and was trying to get out.

For most of our marriage, we had zero dollars to spend on anything extra. With our new life changes, we have instituted monthly allowances for each of us. I don’t quite know how to explain the feeling I had of being able to make such a fun and frivolous purchase, but it was wonderful.

I absolutely love wearing my new earrings and I feel like they have allowed me to bring back a side of myself that I had forgotten about. That might all sound very strange, but it’s true.

They remind me to be more confident. More creative. More carefree.

It’s funny how such a small object could bring up so many thoughts and emotions.

What we experience in life changes us, not necessarily for better or worse, just different.

I am thankful for the tiny income we had in our first years of marriage because it showed us how little we truly need, caused me to become more disciplined, and made me an expert budgeter.

I am thankful for our current jobs because we have worked hard to get to them and appreciate them all the more because of it.

I am thankful for the truly difficult moments because we now know our strength and know that whatever comes next, we will make it through that too.

⇒ How have your life experiences changed who you are today? Would your younger self recognize you?