Snack #34 - RIP my favorite shirt (2016-2022)

I am mourning the passing of one of my oldest shirts. Bought in 2016 in the LA fashion district, this yellow tie-die shirt was an extension of me. I am lingering in throwing it away, and its corpse is sitting by my laptop as I’m writing this.

I don’t like having too many things - I see myself as a minimalist in most things. I buy clothes about once every 5 years, or when I lose clothes or they get ruined. The last time I recall having an emotional reaction to losing a physical thing is when I lost my 3 year old water flask, full of dents and character.

What is this shirt for me? It’s my journey from the first trip to the states and through all my dancing years. It’s that one shirt that has lived most of my dance experiences with me! It lasted longer than all my partners, leases, ups and down of my dance life, and I could always count on this one shirt to be there for me, like a good friend that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance but you can always talk to. A safe haven when I don’t know what to wear.

To be honest, it wasn’t exciting to me anymore. I found myself not wearing it often, just because it has so much…weight. When I wear it, it’s a symbol. It affects how I feel, it holds memory and that can be limiting - what if I don’t feel like being yellow shirt Tom today?

What artifacts do you have that hold emotions and stories? I don’t have many, and they are sometimes hard to notice, but today, I lost a friend.