Keepsake Apartment

Some have a keepsake box. Some have a necklace with charms. Me? I have an apartment.

It depends on who you ask. I would say, kinda. Yes, my apartment is a little messy. But I would not say it is all that bad. I am a bit of a pack rat in that I just don't throw things away. Unlike a hoarder, it isn't because I think I need the item, or will in the future. I just literally forget to throw things away. There are, however, many things that I choose not to throw away. Things of true meaning to me. Things I will never throw away.

So my apartment remains messy until I just can't take it anymore, transforming into a whirling dervish and going to work. Right now? It's not too bad. OK. A little.

I can point to several things here that bring back memories. My old Canon camera for one. I had thought that using a normal film camera was cool. An it was. Until I bought my digital one. Alright. So maybe not everything that is older is better. Only most stuff. Need I bring up the funk?

I see my great grandfathers violin. No really. The man made it himself. Not only did he make the one that sits in my living room, but he made around twenty or so others. I never really knew my great grandfather. Nor did I ever really know his son in law, my grandfather, both on my mothers side. I wanted to try and carry on some sort of tradition by learning how to play on my own. But a few broken parts and not enough time have so far resulted in squat. I have always wanted to learn to play such a beautiful instrument. Right now I sing and play drums. Maybe someday I will.

I look over at my bookshelf and see the bounty of great books. I have started almost all of them, but I have read less than half of them completely. They are something that continues to push me, however. I am a slow reader. My brain likes to take things in slow when I read. So the result is very few books finished. I wasn't very good in school. Probably because I am a typical boy. (Boys are typically drugged and suppressed by most schools these days. I know I was.) So I have tried to combat my low economic standing and education by reading and learning as much as I can on my own. It worked for Franklin. Why not me? It worked for Lincoln. Why not me?

I don't have much within the keepsake chest that is my small apartment. But what I do have inspires me to push on. It reminds me of my past, and heralds my future. That's why they continue to sit in my apartment. A little messy, but again. It depends on who you ask.

(week two: prompt six)