Being the typical college student that I am, I was running late and had five minutes to get dressed, make breakfast and finish some homework for my first class. As I frantically looked for something to wear I went into my closet grabbed the first hoodie I saw, ran downstairs and attempted to start my day. It wasn't until I was waiting for the water for my coffee to boil that I caught my breath looked down at what I was wearing and lost it. This sweater didn't belong to me. It belonged to somebody who I used to know.
There's something about wearing an article of clothing that belongs to someone else that make you feel good. It makes you feel loved. It makes you feel like you belong. Specifically when you wear your significant other's clothing. Wearing their clothes makes you feel proud and almost boastful about them but in all the right ways. It's a sign to the world that you are happily claiming someone. It's so much more than just a shirt or just a sweater. It's a sign of love.
So what do you do when that person is no longer in your life? Do you throw away the hoodie that has his fraternity letters on it? The one that he was so excited to give you? Do you throw away the white sox shirt that he left at your house when he came and visited you in the middle of the semester from 2000 miles away? The shirt that you know is his all time favorite but he let you keep because he loved you? What do you do?
Throwing them away seems a bit harsh. But so does opening your closet every day and seeing the clothing that belongs to someone that no longer texts you good morning. That no longer makes your day with a few words. That no longer loves you.
You can't give them back to him because that would require speaking to him and you guys aren't on speaking terms. He would probably just think it was an excuse to talk to him and you know what, maybe it is. You can't donate them because you can't bring yourself to let them go. His clothes are all you have left of him so giving them away would officially mean that you guys are over. Even though that seems like the responsible thing to do, we're only human and we're not perfect.
So this is what you do. You thank them.
To the hoodies in my closet that don't belong to me, thank you for the memories. Thank you for keeping me warm when I was cold. Thank you for the all the laughs and smiles I shared with you on. Thank you for bringing your original owner into my life. But most importantly, thank you for sticking around, long after your original owner left.
