It happens to the best of us, but to some more often than others. You're going through your day and have been super busy all morning, either at work or in class. The rest of your day looks pretty booked as well, but you finally get a hour for lunch, your one time during the day to finally sit and relax. One of your friends texted you before and you're just about purchase your food and join them. You reach for your wallet, just to realize that it isn’t in the same place you usually keep it. Your heart drops and you are now turning every bag you have with you upside down to try to look for it. The longer you spend searching with no success, the faster your heart beats and you eventually realize it’s nowhere with you. The frantic retracing of your steps then starts, and your day is now headed in a completely different direction.
If you are as absent-minded as I am, you know this situation all too well, and the list of lost and forgotten things goes on. Your cell phone, your keys, forgetting to turn the lights in your car and forgetting that doctor's appointment you scheduled a month before. All of these common things I have done, along with many others out there, have led to many interesting stories — and sometimes even adventures.
I guess one of the most common things out of this list is leaving the lights on in my car. There have been countless times where I have been stuck somewhere at night, simply because I have forgotten to turn my lights off. Some of us are lucky enough to have cars that make noises when you leave the headlights on, but most of us who drive older cars don’t have them, and we are forced to rely solely on our memories. Honestly, I couldn't count all the times I have asked someone to help me jumpstart my car, but it’s always nice to know that there's always someone out there that's willing to help. It makes you realize that common consideration isn’t dead after all. One of my friends even told me that her parents met because of this specific situation. Many years ago, her mom's car needed a jump and her dad helped.
Whenever you go out, there are always three crucial things you must have with you too. The cell phone, wallet and keys. When one of those three gets lost, it can turn your whole world upside down. It’s funny, though, because I think we've all been here before too. If we didn’t, then the college I attend wouldn't make half as much money as it does off of students that have to pay for replacing their lost or stolen ID cards.
You lose one of those three essential things and tear apart everything you have looking for it; you retrace your day 12 times, and you swear that you just saw it a few minutes ago. It was just in your hand, wasn’t it? You then find it in the most obvious spot of all time. I have driven my friends crazy with this, but much later on, it’s something we all can laugh about. Although, my friends in that moment pretty much want to kill me. I can see it in the eyes of even the most patient ones I have.
Although older people losing things is a common stereotype, it's actually much more common for us millennials to lose things and forget stuff. This is because of our tightly-packed schedules and the many distractions we are surrounded by. My parents and some other older people I have talked to say we rush too much now, and that's the reason why nowadays we forget so many things. In many ways, I couldn't agree more. We live in this rushed world now. I bet the average person in their 20s spends less than an hour every morning getting ready. This is probably why the dining hall at my college is nearly empty during breakfast on weekdays. Slowing down is key, though, to remembering anything. The only problem is you have to remember to do that too.
When you remember to slow down, though, it gets a lot easier to remember everything else. Spending more time in the morning getting ready, or even just pausing for a simple second and thinking before leaving somewhere in the end can save you lots of time. Running back somewhere to get something because you forgot it because you were in a rush is certainly a catch 22. We are all human though, and at one time or another in our lives, we are going to forget or lose something. It happens, and when it does, all you can hope is that there are people kind enough and patient enough to help. This is why I thank anyone who has ever helped me jumpstart my car, helped my retrace my steps or even found something of mine and decided to do the right thing with it.
