Freedom. Release. Hope. Comfort. Growth. Happiness. Love. Faith. These words describe what has been lacking in my life in so form or fashion. Bag Lady, by Erykah Badu, best describes how I’ve been living my life. Fear. Disappointment. Isolation .Numbness.Shame. Anger. Resentment. Saddness. Stagnation. Disarray. Loneliness. Guilt. These words describe the bags that I have been carrying. These bags weigh me down. My bus ( filled with future, achievement, love, and satisfaction) will continue to keep passing me by if I continue to bog myself down with these bags.
Ironically, and possibly symbolically, the zipper on my favorite everyday purse ripped. Out of this cute, polished purse, spewed mess. If this situation did not accurately portray my life, I don’t know what else will. Let’s be honest. We are all bogged down with some level of emotional baggage. The best part of life is figuring out how to unpack your luggage and use the items to your benefit journey. Analyze your Capacity. Acknowledging what you should hold on to, and what you should let go is the most difficult step in moving forward in order to catch that bus called change or plane called growth. I had stuffed so many things in my bag that my purse was out of space. My bag had reached its capacity and the contents that had weighed the purse down were spewing. 

What contents do I really need to carry? Old receipts and coupons resemble friends, situations, and emotions that I have simply outgrown. My phone is constantly nagging me about its storage capacity. Through the years, I have gathered thousands of photos that I can not bring myself to delete. My refusal to let go of old feelings and memories prevents me from making new ones. 

My goal now is to figure out what contents I need to truly love contently. The heaviness of these bags have bogged me down for so long. Buses have passed me by. My bags need to be reassessed to determine what capacity I have for positivity. How so and so treated me, what him or her said about me, or how ashamed I felt of myself can not continue to prevent me from catching my bus. 

After trying to salvage my purse, I made a trip to TJ Maxx to see what I could find. 

Here’s what I tried: 

During the process, I enlisted assistance from friends. Ultimately, the choice for my new bag, was all mine. 

Fringe is so fun, edge, and flirty. I tried this in a beige and pink. Katie really liked this one. Tomorrow, I may go back and get it. 

Katie and Erika both enjoyed this duffle bag. I loved it but wanted sometime less bulky. 

Avante and Erika made interesting comments on this bag. Avante stated that it looked professional but also not unique. Erika, thought that it was polished but knew that I was probably looking for something smaller. 

The green color attracted me but the bag is huge. I stopped wearing big, bulky bags years ago.

This bag was in my top 3 because it  is a color that would match well, it’s compact, and has a unique flare. Still, I searched for something else.  

Here are the two that I purchased: 

This coin purse style bag caught my eye. Can we say love at first sight? The purse is small yet spacious enough, this will be an evening it special events purse. 

With my new bag, items that I need, like lipstick and my hair brush now have room. I’m hoping to pack lighter this year.    I want to make room for new experiences. 

Which bags do you like best! How has baggage prevented you from living life? 

Share with me in the comment section,