On this particular day, it felt as though the world was about to end; or at least my world. It was one of those days where everything feels like it’s crashing down around you. You feel like the day is never-ending, yet you still feel as though you’re running out of time to get everything done. When I got home, I fell onto my bed and all the overwhelming tasks fill my head. I felt like I was just keeping my head barely above the sea of responsibilities. On top of that all, small inconveniences added to the cloud filling up my head slowly. I took a deep breath and turned over to face my ceiling. I shifted my eyes over to the window and noticed the sky. It was filled with dark grey clouds that resembled all the thoughts inside my head.

 Under the small old fashion window though was the box. In black acrylic paint, the messy letters read “Mya and Kenny’s Box”. I had gotten this large neon green shoebox with my cleats for lacrosse. I looked at it for a good minute and decided to open it. I lifted myself off the bed and sat down in front of the brightly colored box. I lifted the lid and the first couple things my eyes laid upon were photos. Some of them taken by my very own Polaroid camera, some taken by the photobooths that you generally find at parties, and some taken by the photo machine at Chuck E. Cheese. In some of the photos we were smiling, in some of them we were just being silly, but in all of them, we were as happy as can be. Putting the photos into one neat pile, I carried on and dug deeper into the box as memories pushed out all the negative thoughts previously in my head. 

Next, I found a stack of letters and notes he wrote to me. My favorite has always been the thick cardboard card enclosed in a red Hallmark envelope. “To My Love,” he wrote in a black ballpoint pen on the front with a heart. I looked at the other letters by him, smiling at the words he had written. I remember him writing one of them in my bedroom while I was working on Biology homework. “Hey don’t look!” he said as he chuckled and moved the paper away. I’ve memorized almost every single small detail about him and could paint a perfect picture in my mind of him writing that letter. He’s like if a chocolate lab puppy was a person. His smooth, shiny, dark brown hair was always swooshed to the side and his big brown eyes gave you the warmest feeling in the world. Strong and smart yet loving and sweet at the same time. 

I came upon the last layer of the box which was the small items. Although small, their worth to me was gigantic. Each item with its own unique story that’s attached to them. This layer included a keychain, bracelets from various places we’ve gone, tickets, a handwarmer, and more small items. Taking out each thing individually, I relived all the memories attached to the items. Returning everything into the box and closing it, I looked out my window again to see the sun peaking through the clouds. I had a new attitude about my day and got to work tackling every project that used to cloud my head. 

Whenever I’m feeling blue or overwhelmed, I open this box to remind me that somebody is by my side every step of the way. It’s there to remind me of happy moments when my head can only seem to focus on the bad ones. I carry this box to bring me joy and motivation when I need it the most in life to keep me going.