The Box of Memories

I got this idea from Ophelia . She found it from another blog. The original idea was to call it a Jar of Good Things.

However, I could only find a cardboard box, and I'm going to put more than just 'good' things into it. And so I shall call it a Box of Memories instead.

The basic idea is to not look inside the aforementioned box (or jar, or can, or whatever you use) until the next year. Seal it up if you have to (I've taped mine up). Then, when something happens that you want to remember (good or bad), you write a little note (I'm also going to put the date on mine) and slip it inside the box.

There's a reason why I decorated each aspect of my box the way I did. I'll talk that through piece-by-piece.

The first thing I noticed was that my box is, well... a mess. I'm not very coordinated, so the paper I cut was crooked and jagged. There are lumps of glue under other parts of the paper where it didn't smooth out, and slivers of white cardboard show through from time to time. The slit I put into it so that I could slip notes into it is lopsided and hard to actually push paper through.

Basically, it's crooked, messy, and imperfect.

But ya know what? I'm imperfect (everyone is, by the way; the only person who ever was or is perfect is Jesus Christ). So, in a way, the box is a reflection of me. Which is as it should be.

Anyway, moving on.

The color of the box is red. I chose this color specifically, for several reasons.

Red is the color of fire and of blood. But also of happier things--of roses and strawberries. It reminds me of love, and of a few good friends whose favorite color is red. So that is one of the main reasons I chose the color red as the primary color. Because it reminds me of all of those things. And it's more cheery than using a darker color like black.

I also scribbled random designs and stars onto the red paper later on with a purple fine-tip marker. There isn't really any reason for that; I just felt like it. XD

I have four different colored pieces of paper on the bottom (one on each flap; that's why you can't see all four colors). I was, originally, planning on using those pieces of paper on the top - but when I tried to cut a slit into that side of the box to put paper through, it didn't work. Oh well.

The four colors are green, gray, purple, and pale yellow.

I chose green because it's my favorite color. Also because it reminds me of forests and nature; things that always calm me down. To me, green is kind of the color of life - most living plants have green leaves. It means they're healthy and alive.

I chose gray for various reasons. Part of it was because it reminded me of storms and ashes (I choose colors based on what they remind me of, a lot of the time). Another part of it was because it reminds me of two friends. One friend (who I don't speak to anymore, unfortunately), his favorite color was charcoal gray. And the other friend... whenever I think of the color silver (and thus gray), I think of her.

I chose purple because it reminds me of mountains, of gems from deep in the earth, of fantasy, and of royalty - kings and queens of old, and our One True King.

I chose pale yellow because it's the color of sunlight, and it conjures up memories and thoughts of hope. To me, pale yellow is the color of hope. I don't know why that is; whether it's because sunlight makes a person feel peaceful, and sunlight is that color... or just because it's such a soft and calming color to see.

So, that's why I chose those colors. Fortunately for you, that means you don't have to deal with me regaling you about my view on certain colors anymore. ;)

The next thing I decided to do was type up inspirational quotes or song lyrics and print them out. I made this decision because I have a vast collection of quotes (and an equally vast collection of songs). And usually, they serve to inspire or encourage me when I need it. So, I though, "What better final touch than to paste quotes onto the Box of Memories?"

And thus, I set off on the journey of sifting through my Pinterest page and song lyrics; since I couldn't choose all my favorite singers to look at song lyrics from, I stuck with four artists - Andrew Peterson; Fireflight; David Crowder; and Josh Wilson.

Then I typed them all up. Much to my chagrin, I had gotten a little carried away, and had nine pages of quotes. To save paper and ink, I made the font a little smaller and didn't space them quite so far apart. And I pushed the print button.

I didn't paste them onto the box until later on (and I'm ashamed to say I stayed up far past my bedtime doing it; I'll have to go to bed early to make up for that). The box is entirely covered in quotes; there are even quotes on the bottom.

There is a reason why I didn't just save the quotes left to either glue onto a notebook or for my next Box of Memories. The reason is this - sometimes, when I'm feeling really low, I don't want to look at anything inspirational or encouraging. I don't know why, it's just the way it is. So if I was looking at my Box of Memories, I might turn it upside down so I didn't have to look at any of the quotes.

And my plan would fail, since there are also quotes on the bottom of the Box as well.

It sounds silly, I know. But it's the way my mind works.

I think I've touched on everything; if not, I'll just come back and edit this post. If you don't have a Box of Memories for this year (or a Jar of Good Things, or whatever you wish), I suggest you try it. Who knows what may come of it!

God bless,

Theodora