Silent Witnesses

We attach memories to objects as a reminder of our past. Much like the stuffed animal or the blanket you’ve had since you were a kid, it brings comfort and reminds you of your childhood. It could remind you of a better time in your life, or it can remind you of your past identity. Our brain links our senses to different cognitive experiences, so it makes sense why different objects can mean so much to us.

Endowment Effect

There is a psychological phenomenon called the endowment effect. This is when you place a higher value on an object you own rather than an identical one you do not own. People will oftentimes put a higher selling price on the things they own. They see these objects as having a greater value. These objects have a higher value to us simply because we own them. So many memories and different events have shaped them.

These can come in many different forms; they can be as simple as your clothes or as major as your house. 

Your Car

One place that can hold immense memories is your car. Your car goes everywhere with you and experiences everything with you—first dates, the first time hanging out with a new friend or traveling. Your car is there with you and holds these memories inside its walls. To other people, they would look at it and just see a car, but to you, you could look at it and see your best friend singing songs in the passenger seat or your parents clinging to the armrest as you were learning to drive. To passersby, those memories don’t exist, but to you, the leather encapsulates many memories.

Your Clothes

Your style comes in phases. Different pieces of clothes get buried in your closet and forgotten about until months later. Like when you’ve decided to clean your closet and find the dress you wore for graduation. Along with your car, your clothes really do follow you everywhere. Your clothes also hold scents. They can soak up your grandma’s perfume when she hugged you during her visit, or they can hold a stain that you got from dropping pasta in your lap on a first date.

Your Scent

You’re getting ready to go out, staring at all of your perfumes or colognes. You decide to wear a different one for the night, so you pick up your old favorite from a year ago. You spray your wrists and neck only to be flooded with memories of the person you used to be. It works as a reminder of people you used to know and floods your brain with nostalgia. 

The artifacts of our lives hold memories. They give us a sense of value, identity, comfort and nostalgia. The memories tied to our belongings can be good or bad, but regardless of either, they still bring us these core values, which is why we hold them so close.

What belongings of yours hold the most memories? Let us know on Instagram @VALLEYmag.

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