I can’t call it a prized possession. I call it a prized memory to a prized possession. When I was in the 6th grade, I had a best friend named Yahquara we did everything together, she was my first friend I made at my new school. I could remember it like it was yesterday; for some reason that day will be forever with me. I was running late for school that morning, when I arrived it was silent. I could remember saying to myself why it is so quiet where is everyone. When I made it to class that’s when I found out the terrible news. I found out my best friend was murdered by her Uncle no less. That is a day and feeling I will never forget. She was a lovely girl very smart with a bright future that was taken too soon. The whole school mourned her death; she was loved by everyone who came in contact with her. Since she was in our class we did a special project, and show in her honor. We made little pillows and other things in art class for her. I loved that pillow. I took it with me everywhere I slept with it, I play with it, I even used to take it in the bathroom with me when it was bath time. That following year I move down south to go to school; and of course my pillow was right there with me. I had to make a quick trip back to NY, ended up having to stay and was unable to retrieve my belongings. As the time went by and I was unable to retrieve my belongings they got thrown away. I think about my friend everyday I always think how different life would be if she was still around. That’s my prize possession the memory of her.

Materialistic belongings, that significantly impact our lives . People tend to hold on to things that bring them comfort and joy. We all have things we value and cherish, that we can’t and won’t do without. As children we tend to hold onto our toys, books, pacifiers, clothes, blankets, and the list goes on and on.

As a child my favorite possession was my baby pillow. The old, ripped and stained pillow case with the McDonalds characters on it was my everything. This was my magical pillow. You wanted me to sleep just give me my pillow. Wouldn’t go to sleepovers without it. Funny thing is that I didn’t even put it under my head. I would curl it up with one hand and the other hand I would suck my thumb. Recently I found this pillow that my mom has been saving for years. I tried to introduce it to my kids but neither found any interest in my magical pill.

No more magical pillow and now I’m obsessed with video games. It all began with my Nintendo. From Mario to Zelda and everything in-between I was officially hooked. It seems like every year a new system would come out and of course I needed them all. Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Game boy, Wii, X-box and last but not least PlayStation 1,2,3,and 4. I got my PlayStation before they went on sale in the US. My brother brought mine back from Japan when he finished his tour for the Marines. That was the best gift I ever got. All my friends would want to come over to play. We would stay up all hours of the night planted to the TV, that is until mom came and kicked everyone out. Now, all that my PlayStation is good for is watching DVDs. That is if it even works with all the dust that has collected on it.

Now my favorite possession is my surname. Nykin means the world to me. My Dad was a sibling of 6 kids. 4 girls and 2 boys. My uncle was divorced and his only child was a girl that took her mothers last name. That leaves me, my brother, and my sister being that last of the Nykin name. My sister has 1 son and his last name is Vasquez. Now that leaves all the pressure for my brother and I to carry on our last name. He is married with 2 beautiful girls and 1 more on the way. Yes 3 girls good luck bro. That leaves it all to me. Thankfully I was blessed with 1 boy and 1 girl. My kids don’t know the significance of their last name yet but as they get older I will encourage they keep the name going for a long time.

My most prized possession is my sneakers the reason why they are my most prized possession is because I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere with out sneakers. I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking around without sneakers on my feet. I feel that people would just make fun of me if I walked out my house with no sneakers on my feet;otherwise, I wouldn’t care about having sneakers if no one was to make fun of people less fortunate to have sneakers. I wouldn’t have a problem with walking around with no sneakers I feel that it’s more comfortable walking around with no sneakers depending on how the street is if there’s a lot of rocks in the area that I’m going to them I’m going to need sneakers but if there isn’t then I could walk around with my feet. I believe that sneakers are something that everyone need because when it rain you can wear your sneakers you can basically wear sneakers in any weather but it isn’t that good for the snow cause your feet would get numb from the cold, when your feet get cold it’s start to hurt as soon as it start getting warm and it’s burns at the same time and that is a lot of pain and I know that no one wants to be in that much pain during the winter especially when it’s already cold And you getting hit by strong winds. People without sneakers go through a lot of sicknesses due to the fact that they can’t cover they feet with something.

When I was a child my favorite possessions as a child was always my stuffed animals. I don’t know wgat itvwas about them but i have always loved them. Sadly i can only remember a couple from when i was small. I remember having a blue dinosaur, but unfortunately when i took it to New Jersey I lost it. I also remember have a grey whale – named Willy – but one day it ripped and i was unable to repair it, so i had to threw it away. I remember one more stuffed toy and that was a turtle. This one I always kept replacing with a new until maybe like 3 years ago, i haven’t gotten a new one since. As time passed, the stuffed toys got older and older, so i threw them away and replaced them with a new one; Until now. I now have a new favorite stuffed animal; Its a giant stuffed sheep. My girl friend gave it too me for Christmas, so it means alot; but that’s not the only reason it means alot. One day, she and I went to Time Square to just look around the stores. We went into the big Toy’s “R” Us and thats where I find it. It was just so adorable and fluffy, and i wanted it. later on got it for Christmas. That Toy’s “R” Us has always been my favorite of all time. My parents would always take me there to buy my toys, but i would always be afraid to go by the big T-rex. So I have a bunch of memories in that Toy’s “R” Us; unfortunately the Toy’s “R” Us has closed down for good. So the sheep that my girlfriend gave me is the very last thing that I have or ever will get from that specific Toy’s “R” Us which makes it super speacil to me. This time my stuffed sheep isn’t going anywhere; I’m going to try to keep it new for as long as I can.

Dear Blanket,

You and I have come a very long way, for you were given to me as a gift when my godparents came to visit me in the hospital when I was born. Since I was a baby, I’ve slept with you every night. Even when we would take our family trips to Mexico, when I was younger my mom made sure to pack you along with us. If not I could not sleep at all and I would be up all night tossing and be turning. I even had you included in my sweet 15!, instead of using a doll that I just bought just for the purpose of the ultima muneca. I felt like it wouldn’t be as meaningful, using a doll I just bought; when I already have a prized possession from my childhood. Although my mom hated the idea of using you instead of doing a ultima muneca , I insisted on using you. You’ve been through it all with me, from family deaths to arguments with my family and break ups. In all those situations, I came to you to cry on, I would lock myself in my room lay down on my bed and wrap myself in you. At the end of a long day, I enjoy the soft feeling of you that runs through my fingertips; It makes me feel at ease honestly. I want to thank you for always being there for me when I needed to let it all out. And even though everyone in my family insists that I get rid of you because you are so old and are almost falling apart by the threads. I can’t because you hold a very special place in my heart . Getting rid of you is like getting rid of my childhood memories and I plan to keep you around long enough so that my kids can even use you .

My favorite possession is my cat, although I don’t see him as a possession I see him as royalty; I treat him like one too. My cat is like my best friend, we been together for almost 9 years and going and they’ve been the best nine years. I am grateful of having the most loving, caring, a lil selfish, snobby, manipulative, cute, photogenic little cat. I treat him like if he’s my own child I let no one close to him because of jealousy and afraid that guest will fall in love with my cat (which already happens). When ever I feel down my cat finds a way of sparking someone’s mood but by getting annoyed, like running around; not only when I’m feeling down but when I am falling asleep he starts his midnight races and jumps on my stomach. When having a rough day from school or work and coming back home, everyone needs a little bundle of happiness; my cat welcomes me home and thats enough to make me feel better his meows of “welcome home” and rubbing himself against my legs already tells me someone at home is waiting to greet me. I always thought, god forbid if there where a fire the first thing I’d pick up to rescue is my cat ,because he wouldn’t have a clue whats going on plus everyone else in the household like my mom already know’s the drill to evacuate. although my cat is not human to speak to me I sense the connection of communication we both have as a owner and pet. My cat Chaos (AKA TiTi) will never be replaced and will always stay in my heart, and I will always come home to feel that someone is waiting for me to spoil him and most importantly give him love. 

When I was a child my possessions were my clothes, sneakers and jewelry. I hated when people were around my belongings because I was a afraid that something would either break or could have been perminatly damaged. As I started to mature into a teenager I realized that these material things could not benefit my future. They were only temporary items that made my heart melt at the time. My possession in life today is to be successful. I’m not really sure if that’s is considered a possesion but controlling my future is essential to me. Becoming successful to me is back-breaking because I’m emotional. I considered it to be back-breaking because I have no idea what I want to be in life. I understand that I am young and have time to figure it out, but I’d rather know now so I can figure out what steps I need to take in order to succeed. A fear of mine is that when I get my degree will I even be able to get a job in the field that I decided to major in. I know a handful of people who have their Bachelors Degree and still cannot find a job in the area which they studied. Seeing that gives me doubts because it makes me wonder what if that was me. As well there are moments when I’m thinking about my future and I get excited. What excites me is that in August I will officially start my first semester in college. I am currently balancing working and attending school which was a struggle for me because I’m not good on time management but it is preparing me for the next two years of my life. And I feel like writing essays are becoming very uncomplicated for me, which is an accomplishment because I know the majority of my homework will be essays.

For this Assignment:

1. Read “Stuff” on p.430-1 in Grassroots.

2. Write and post a 300-word letter to your favorite possession. It can be funny, sad, grateful, annoyed, angry, sweet… or a combination of any or all of those.

Be sure to check the “Dear Stuff” category box before you hit Publish.

Have fun with this!