When researching I found random websites where people stated the items they would treasure, one of the people said his items were his playstation, his guitar and his nirvana box set. On the other end of the scale some people had said items made by a close relative, or even just their memories, although not tangible, the only thing they felt was important.
It really confused me how some people could be so materialistic and some not even want an object, with memories or not.
The question itself reminded me of that question, what would you save if your house was on fire? So on googling this, I found an interesting article written by a grandmother and her findings when interviewing her 5 grand children (all aged below 14 I believe) on what they would want her to save from her house and then what they would save from their own house. She was surprised at how un-materialistic the children were, choosing things like paintings that reminded them of their heritage and hair pieces that their grandmother wore a lot. The younger grandchildren were least materialstic, saying she should save the pet dog as it needs someone to care for it and that she should save herself so then she can see her grandchildren.
This then also interested me, that children and adults have different views as to what they value as important and what isn't.
I decided then to take a 'now and then' approach to my interviews, seeing the difference in what people treasured in childhood and what they treasure now, as adults.
I asked 3 people the 2 main questions what was your most treasured item as a child and what's your most treasured item now. I asked 2 people the same age as me, a female student and a male non student and a female friend of my mums. The results were as follows:
The female student was first. A pink tartan blanket described now as 'rubbishy' was her favourite item as a child, she took it everywhere and it was given to her by her parents. The fact she described it as rubbishy said a lot, she realised now it was just a blanket but at the time it clearly meant a lot more to her. Her chosen item now was a Charles Rennie Mackintosh jewellery set also bought for her by her parents for her 18th. Both items are distinctly Scottish and bought for her, by her parents. This would be a big clue to the fact that both are a big part of her life, even though the items are material objects, both seem to have memories behind them, not just the cost or use of the items.
I asked my mums friend second, she's slightly older but still in the same kind of age group so I expected slightly different answers. For her childhood item she said teddies, not any in particular, just in general and for her present treasured item it was her family and friends. The fact one was a material item and the other wasn't was interesting. I thought maybe as she was slightly older and maybe a bit wiser she had realised it wasn't material objects that mattered.
My third and final interviewee was a male student living at home and in full time work. His childhood treasured item was different to everyone else, he chose football. He said that whenever there was a football around he would be kicking it about. I thought a sport was an interesting choice, people i knew growing up who were interested in football were always very focused on it, and it was an important part of their life. For his current treasure he chose his friends, although a bit wary of choosing his friends, he said he knew it was 'cheesy' but they are amazing and wouldn't change them for anything. He didn't choose one material object, and appreciates his social life more, starting from an early age with his football.
All three peoples objects linked back to their family and friends. I had first thought people either chose materialistic objects or memories or people, however it seems that all are linked. People may choose an object as it reminds them of a memory, or was given to them by a certain person. For me, I treasure a lot of things, and keep things because they link to memories. I value things such as my uncles watch i was given after he passed away, and a bracelet which is totally value-less as i made it myself, but haven't taken it off since he died over 2 years ago now. When I was a child I treasured my dolls (lovingly named Baby Jesus and Elena Rosie) both of which I still have. I also have a pair of my first shoes that are still in my wardrobe at home, which i plan on keeping for my first child. Things such as laptops and clothes can easily be replaced but the idea of losing things that mean so much to me leaves an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
Having tangible items we treasure is a good way of reminding yourself of people or events you don't want to forget, and family and friends are the most valuable objects we can ever have, without them we wouldn't need objects to remind ourselves of them!
I was very interested in finding out what people treasured most as children, so decided I would ask a few friends and family as I knew what they treasured now but what they treasured when they were younger was all new to me. My mum treasured a pair of wellie boots bought for her by her mum that she used to wear all day, even to bed. My younger brothers was a car with a handle for us to push him in that I remember him rolling about the house in, he named the car Barbara, we were never sure why... He also had a pair of mouse slippers that were his 'mousey browns', he adored those slippers. Strange the things some people see as valueless mean so much to other people.You can never just look at something and know it has a lot more meaning than you would expect.
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