"This is just a place for my stuff. That's all."

"Have you noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff?" - Carlin

When I heard Carlin say that I literally laughed out loud. However comedic it sounds, though, it is still true. People - especially Americans - really do identify themselves by their possessions and their possessions alone. We get so attached to things that we want to take everything with us when we leave. Every morning it takes me forever to actually leave my house to come to campus because I make sure I have all of my "stuff" several times. While I probably really would be in trouble if I forgot a book or assignment for class, it would not be the end of the world if I forgot my four extra pens, two back-up highlighters, Chapstick, and iPod. Right?

We think we have to have everything because we're caught up in the proverbial "American Dream" that says we deserve everything because we are Americans.

I don't want to be a person who is defined by the things that I own. Instead, I want to define those things and make them mine. Shouldn't my person be complex enough to not have to be identified by my yellow mechanical pencil or my red hat? I really like my red hat, but I don't really want to be labeled as "that girl who wears the ridiculous red hat."

But even I say things like, "Oh, yeah. That's Jim. He has the red Gran Prix," or "Sally is the one who has the ugly book bag," and those around me know exactly who I'm talking about. Maybe Sally thinks her book bag is the cutest book bag ever, but to everyone else, it's just her "shit" and it means nothing. Maybe we just need to be a little more understanding to others and their need for things, too. It's not all about us - there are other people out there who need room for their stuff.

I think it's pathetic that mere objects matter so much, but that's how it is. People have to have this or have to have that, so those things are what we "know" each other by.