Pencil Stubs
Like Charles, I have many obsessions--and, also like Charles, I'll talk about my embarrassing one. I'm obsessed with pencil stubs. Yeah, you know, the little bit that's left over when you've sharpened a pencil as much as it can possibly be sharpened? I just can't throw them away! I feel so bad for them, because they were so useful in their lifetime. How could I think of tossing away, heartless and uncaring, the object that brought my thoughts to paper? Surely to do so would be cruel!
Okay, maybe I'm being a little overdramatic, but I really do feel bad throwing them away. So instead I just sort of keep them in my pencil box . . . which mostly means that when I need a pencil, I don't actually have any of real length, and end up using the teeny stubby ones to take notes with in class. Sigh.
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About Alexandra
Born and raised in San Francisco, California, this aspiring author spends her time perfecting her craft by devouring all the books she can find and practicing as much as possible. She attends University of Washington in Seattle during the year and is...
Connections
Alexandra’s Favorite Books
Oh, I'm so bad at listing my favorites . . . but they include The Poisonwood Bible, Pride and Prejudice, Born in the Delta, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the...
Feeling bad for objects
For me it's grooming and toiletry products. If I throw away a Q-tip without using both ends, or a kleenex I didn't use because I inadvertently pulled two out of the box when I only needed one, I feel regret. A lot of human effort went into creating that object, and the culmination of that effort is my one-time use of it. Who am I to thoughtlessly throw that away, huh?!
Huntington Sharp, Red Room
I'm glad I'm not the only one!
It always sounds a little bit crazy when I try to explain it to people!
Maybe we're all crazy.
I feel bad about clothes I don't wear very often--I worry that they're feeling bored and neglected. Sometimes the feeling of guilt makes me wear something I don't really like, just so it gets a little bit of fun.
I think you're right.
I don't feel AS bad about not wearing them--I feel worse when I try to give them away! "Okay, I don't wear it at all, but it's kind of nice . . . even if it has all those loose threads at the bottom, and it doesn't exactly fit right . . . " etc.