While looking for my son's social security card the other week, I came across a couple shoeboxes that got pushed into the corner during my move into the house. Inside them was piles of letters, mostly from friends while I was in college, but also from past girlfriends, relatives, etc. I also had an impressive amount of photos and some assorted bric-a-brac (ticket stubs and the like). Obviously I knew I had been keeping all this, but for the first time I actually took note of how much was there. I could have probably spent a good couple days reading all the letters.
Originally, I had been keeping it all for my own benefit. Mementos and the like. But it occured to me that when I pass on from this earth, someone else might be reading them. Of course, they might also throw them all away.. who knows? Still, the thought kind of appealed to me. Vanity, I imagine. Ironically, since this is all incoming mail, the reader would probably learn more about my past flings and friends than they'd actually learn about me.. but whatever.
Anyone else keep all this crap? Keep a journal/diary? That's one thing I was never able to do consistantly. I'd get about two weeks into it and then start using the pages to take down phone numbers and stuff. Probably because I always tried to make it a daily thing, or something close to it. Had I simply kept it around to scribe in as the moment grabbed me, I may have kept at it.