Excuse me if I rant for a moment about the heavy load I was carrying. You see, I use to go to work eVeryday with a shoulder bag knee deep in papers, files, and many other things that I deemed too important to leave at home. Although I knew my purse would be enough to get through the day; somehow I was not satisfied unless I was loaded down.

Well, something happened last week that literally made me check myself. I was walking past a window in my office building and took a glance at my reflection. When I saw myself, I thought “who is that girl who looks like the weight of the world is on her shoulders?” I don’t carry a laptop, I’m not an attorney and I finished school a while ago, so what was the need for the file cabinet on my back??

I convinced myself for a long time that I carried it for preparedness, to stay organized, or maybe to have a catchall in those times of sheer boredom, but I was only kidding myself. I needed that weight. It was familiar and it was comfortable. When I left my home in the morning, I was prepared to go to Zambia if I was asked. Passport in tow, bank statements, maps, books u name it.

It’s been a successful seven days since I let go of that bag….and it has made a huge difference in my reflection. However, I recently returned from vacation. And when I was picked up from the airport, I was greeted with the comment, “I know you don’t just have one bag…that wouldn’t be you”. Hmmm…..I thought; they were right. Now I will admit, it’s a little different when you’re on vacation. I mean what woman doesn’t wanna pack their entire closet, right? But funny thing was….no one else on the trip had overpacked, but me. So here I go again….