A peek into the past

When David and I left Milan, I left a bunch of my old boxes at his parents' house. Every time we come back, I find something I remember that I just love and have to bring home to London. Be it my old Friends DVDs, a monochrome full skirt or a structured dress, I never fail to fall back in love with a part of my old self.



Two days ago, while David was watching a movie with his brother, I had a look through my boxes to see if there was something to bring back this time. I stumbled across a tiny old notebook (above, with the cover image of one of my favourite paintings, Botticelli's Venus) where, five years ago, I'd written down all of the cutest texts that David sent me when we had just met and were in a long-distance relationship - I studied at fashion college in Florence and he worked here in Milan - we missed each other so much and text messages and daily chats were our only way of being affectionate. As I flipped through the notebook, I found myself smiling at our old dreams to live in London and to get married. Five years later, we live together in the city of our dreams and are planning the wedding for next summer. And it all seems like it was yesterday.

Digging through heaps of old clothes, memories come to mind. Aside from laughing at how ridiculous everything looks (man, I dressed horribly five two years ago), I felt catapulted back in time: the dress I wore to the beach on our first vacation together; the shoes I bought with my college friends on a sunny Saturday in Florence; the top I'd chosen for my internship interview. All bundled together in old dusty boxes full of memories; my old life.

I wonder if, in a couple of years, the jeans and jackets I wear and the books I read today will become memories tucked away in hidden corners. And I'm curious about the person I will become by then.