Me - Everyday Carry

"Everyday carry." That phrase means may different things to different people. For me, those words signify the six things that I always have on me when I leave my house for the day. There are of course certain days that are exceptions but, by and large I carry these six things on me every day. Throughout my day I also do a quick check which probably looks like I'm having an episode where I tap my pockets and check my wrists to make sure I have everything. If anything is missing I feel a little off for my entire day.​ 

Wallet: Almost everyone carries their wallet on them all the time. It holds almost all of the things that we need to get through a day. I'm a college student so my wallet holds two of the most important pieces of plastic for anyone attending university. The first is my student ID which provides proof that I'm a student at UConn and\allows me to participate in UConn sponsored events, from sporting events to social events on the quad. It has the added the benefit of allowing me to eat in the dining halls. The other piece of plastic is my drivers license which allows me to party (responsibly, mind you) in the bars and clubs around campus with my fellow students. In a sense, my wallet is my passport to exploring my college world.

iPhone 7: Like my wallet, my iPhone is another kind of passport. Like all people who grew up in the age of the internet (read millennials), I'm fully plugged into all of the popular social media and my phone helps me keep up with everything going on in the world. Through apps like Instagram and Snapchat I can see the world through someone else's lens. Speaking of lenses, the iPhone also makes a great run-gun camera, whether it's capturing breaking news or cool sunsets. They say that the best camera is the one right next to you, and I have to stay that the iPhone is a pretty great camera to have on your hip.

Brass bracelet: At first, second, third and probably fourth glance, this bracelet is pretty simple looking. Its a single piece of round, bent brass with a few notches cut into it and a flat section in the middle. It appears pretty cheaply made and to be honest it cost me no more than 5000 Tanzanian Shillings ($2.24). The bracelet, however, has only come off my right wrist at most five times in the over a year that I've owned it. It is a constant reminder of my trip to Tanzania in the summer of 2016. Traveling to Tanzania to work for a summer is one of the biggest challenges and adventures I have ever been on. The bracelet is a reminder of all of the obstacles my team and I overcame while we were there. If I can succeed there, I can succeed anywhere. Also it's a really cool conversation starter.

Seiko watch: I've been wearing a watch daily since December of 2009 Back then it was a Timex Expedition from Walmart, picked out by my parents. Over the next few years I started to get more and more into my watches. It was a way that my dad and I bonded. In the fall of 2012, I got my first real watch: a Seiko solar powered watch (not the one pictured). My dad and I picked it out as an early Rakhi gift. For the next 1,460 days (4 years), I only took off the watch to shower, swim and sleep. The watch became a literal part of my person. If I left my watch in my dorm, I would go back to get it even if it meant that I would be late to class. Then in August of 2016 I lost my watch somewhere between traveling from Mbeya, Tanzania to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. I was heartbroken. I had been through so many adventures with that watch. When I landed back in the States, one of the first things I did was look for and get a new Seiko solar powered watch. I've experienced a few adventures with this new watch, far fewer that my last one but it I no longer feel alone like I did when I lost my old one.

Keys: Almost everything on that key-ring is a reminder of something I've done or am working towards. The little grey pendent is actually from the National Eagle Scout Association. It's a reminder of the oath I took to serve my family and my country. Its a reminder to live up to the Eagle charge everyday. The bottle opener is a reminder of how the Daily Campus has shaped every part of my life up until now and is shaping everything I want to do in the future. The silver keys let me into my apartment and into my job. If I had graduated on time they probably wouldn't have any meaning. Now they serve as a reminder of everything I messed up to end up here. But they also off a kind of hope of a second chance at remaking my college career.

The Wonder Years hat: You know how sometimes you use something for so long that it begins to feel weird to use anything else? That's how I feel about this hat. The Wonder Years are one of my favorite bands. If you haven't heard of them I highly recommend check them out. I picked up the hat a few years ago at Warped Tour and have worn a lot since then. I've worn it to the point where the grey in some parts is turning brown no matter what kind of cleaning I do to it. It may also be developing a few holes¯\_(ツ)_/¯. If I wear a different hat, or if I wear no hat at all, people will make jokes about not knowing who I am. Like my watch it's just become a part of who I am.

The things that are part of my "everyday carry" have been critical to all sorts of adventures that I have been through. Without them I would not be the person I am today and I wouldn't be able to conquer any future challenges. 

Part 2 of Me. will continue on Friday, July 21. In the meantime please comment and share. Cheers and happy shooting