I try to clean out my purse every so often because it’s generally full of garbage, but today I cleaned it out because I discovered, en route to work, that my metrocard was missing.
Though I know that the staple women’s-magazine feature “What’s in YOUR purse?” is likely about as true to life as YM Magazine’s “Say Anything” column–which is to say, partially true and heavily edited–I always snicker/grimace when I think about what my response would be if someone posed the question to me.
What’s in my purse (a sampling):
7 straw wrappers (yes, 7. I buy iced coffee and a bagel across the street all the time and I unwrap the straw there (so as to more quickly transmit the coffee into my veins)…there’s no garbage can at the counter, so instead of hanging onto the wrapper and throwing it in the trash on my way out, I shove it in my purse. Frequently, it seems.
Ear plugs in various states of newness. For concerts.
Graphing calculator that I took for tutoring and then forgot to take out.
Hunting the 1918 Flu.
Pink and green earbuds that I got for free, with one of the little green earbud-softener things missing.
Packet of sugar.
Sad, scraggly hair ties.
A bra that I left in my purse after I did yoga and didn’t change out of my yoga clothes, and then forgot to remove.
A silver dog tag that says “Superhero,” which I found smashed into the gravel at a campsite.
A lifesaver. Bonus!
What is not in my purse: My metrocard.
me
This story took me on highs and lows. 8/10 would read again.