Things That Stick

On the 10th of January, the Hatcher Graduate Library housed a gallery called Boundaries and Belonging at the University of Michigan.

Of all the pieces in the room, this one spoke the loudest. You couldn’t see it until you trekked all the way to the back of the display.

On a blank slab lies hundreds of different stickers, different colors, different sizes, different feelings, different messages. People decorate their belongings with these stickers to express themselves. Each sticker could represent an experience they had, awareness, or perhaps be a simple little memento. It takes an ordinary object and adds a dollop of what makes you, you. They are like two dimensional capsules for a memory. Whether or not there is a climatic story attached, it marks an encounter that perhaps you share with people or sets you apart.

The stickers could be like the people we meet throughout our lives. We start with a blank slate. As we begin to make connections with people, they stick. When we lose touch with people, their stickers slowly peel off. When we find one we like, we preserve it. Over time, some are basically inscribed on the slate.

One sticker may be your mom, the first one on the board who you can’t always see underneath all the chaos of new people, but you know she’s there.

Others could be those best friends who may not be the biggest stickers, but they are the brightest and most visible in the larger scheme of things, the waiter that made you laugh so hard you couldn’t breathe, that cute boy with the New York accent who you finally got a chance to know.

We learn a thing or two from these people. Together, they create a collection of memories and a mural of your past. It’s the entire collection that tells your story, not just a single sticker. Do these “stickers” define you? Think of it as a foundation. Your past may not define who you are; your past may prepare you for who you are to become.