Fun Fact: I Still Sleep With My Childhood Blanket
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Fun Fact: I Still Sleep With My Childhood Blanket

A quilt that is my life.

51
Fun Fact: I Still Sleep With My Childhood Blanket

As someone who 1) isn't fun and 2) hates talking about himself and 3) doesn't like meeting people, I dread the idea of giving a "fun fact" to introduce myself. But in the cases where I'm forced to give one, I have my go-to answer: I still sleep with my childhood blanket. It's a little embarrassing, but it works. Plus, it generally elicits a collective "awww" from the group.

But my "Blankie" is so much than just something to cover myself with when I sleep.

Over the last 21 years, I've grown and changed so much that sometimes, I have difficulty even recognizing myself. Of course, I'm still the same person, but sometimes I feel as if I'm walking through the world with amnesia, living from moment to moment like Clive Wearing. Looking at the photos of my past, I recognize the experiences but not always the smiling person in them. The narrative of my life seems fragmented, as if at every stage in my life, I am reinvented and reborn anew.

But my blanket is the one constant that remains through it all, even as the world seems to spin more and more out of orbit and everything that I thought I had ever known about the world, and people, and even myself chips away in certainty (i.e. this presidential election). Its familiar smell and touch on my skin comforts me and caresses me at the end of each day of this crazy thing called "life" that I navigate. The beds change and the pillows change, but my blanket never does. This raggedy, worn blanket that my parents brought from Taiwan somehow ties me to my roots and my identity.

When I was 10 and Hurricane Katrina forced my family to evacuate, my mom folded up my blanket and put it on the top shelf of a closet in our small one-story house so it would stay dry if it flooded. As we inched away from the city, I was devastated and kept imagining our house and my blanket being washed away and lost forever. Fortunately, my blanket — and our house — remained intact upon our return.

Around this time, my parents also lightheartedly threatened to throw out this blanket. A couple times, when I couldn't find my blanket, or my mom had taken it to wash without my knowledge, I panicked, thinking it was in that black trash bag sitting on the curb in front of my house. Luckily, they never actually did it.

I know it seems silly that I've slept with the same blanket since I was born, but for some reason, it is my most prized material possession. Perhaps it is a reminder of a simpler time and a simpler me. Or, some part of me is clinging on to the last piece of my childhood and innocence. Or the calendar pages on the pattern of the blanket somehow symbolize its steadfastness throughout time, as if to say the days and months I live are patches stitched into a quilt that is my life.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

10264
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

942302
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

119686
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lots of people sat on the cinema wearing 3D glasses
Pinterest

Ever wonder what your friend meant when they started babbling about you taking their stapler? Or how whenever you ask your friend for a favor they respond with "As You Wish?" Are you looking for new and creative ways to insult your friends?

Well, look no further. Here is a list of 70 of the most quotable movies of all time. Here you will find answers to your questions along with a multitude of other things such as; new insults for your friends, interesting characters, fantastic story lines, and of course quotes to log into your mind for future use.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments