I have totes of stuffed animals stored away that I go through every now and again, but I hardly ever get rid of any. People have asked me why, why do I not want to get rid of any of my stuffed animals. Well, there's many reasons.

First of all, I most of the time call them my friends. When you don't have too many people to hang out with, you need to find something to keep you entertained. As an only child, stuffed animals are the only at-home easily accessible friends you can have.

Second, they aren't just furry pieces of soft cloth filled with stuffing. To me, they hold memories and sentimental value. Copper, a small tan hound that is a look-alike of the movie, I got from a girl when I was five. Copper was her favorite toy. To entrust me with such a significant thing, that hit me hard. His body is stained with dirt and who knows what, but he will never leave my possession.

I have a rabbit I got when I was three, a white, large plush that I saw in a store and cried and cried until I got it. Her whiskers are missing and her fur is now gray, but she's still soft as can be.

In one of the totes, towards the bottom, lay two large labs that my grandfather gave me just years before he died. He gave me two other smaller stuffed dogs years later. These are the only things I have of him.

There are four bears, all different colors, in one tote. My family and I got them from the grocery store, one for each of us. I get asked why we can't get rid of them. To me, it symbolizes our family, of course, I don't want to get rid of any of them.

I have a horse that my best friend made for me here at college when I couldn't go to stuffed animal night with her. That, I'll never get rid of.

One of my oldest stuffed animals is a wind-up Peter Rabbit that used to sing me to sleep every night when I was a baby. I still wind him up and let him play now and again.

I have far too many stuffed animals, but each and every one holds a meaning that I cannot let go.