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On the wall of my bedroom, I have dozens of postcards from across the world. Most of my postcards are thrifted, found in antique stores or between the pages of library books. I love getting a glimpse into someone else’s life, seeing where they went and who they deemed important enough to write to. Some of my postcards are sent from exotic locations, while others are from familiar places. They all hold a tiny piece of history, a microscopic look at the life of someone I’ll never know who visited places I’ve never seen.
I suppose I live vicariously through some of my postcards, but I also love the mundane ones featuring weekend trips to small towns or pictures of dingy motel rooms and descriptions of bad weather or car troubles. I just love seeing the more intimate sides of people’s lives, especially those before my time.
Over the years, though, I’ve found that I love more than just postcards. Most of the items in my room are thrifted from estate sales, antique stores, yard sales, and a thousand other random events and locations I stumble upon. My most prized possessions once belonged to a friend’s grandmother or were thrown in the dollar bin and forgotten about until I dug them out and gave them new life.
There’s something supremely satisfying about the idea of giving something “new life.” Taking a thing no one wants and turning it into something beautiful and meaningful. I’ve done this with chairs, lamps, vinyl records, books, magazines, and what feels like a million other objects.
My most prized rescue, however, would have to be my wonderful, precious angel of a cat, Phoebe. Phoebe is an eight-year-old cat I adopted from the Humane Society here in Louisville. When I found her, she’d been abandoned, had worms (this was very icky, I can’t lie) and ear mites, was missing several teeth, and was extremely anxious and nervous around people. Only a few months later, though, and she’s cute and cuddly and perfectly healthy with tons of people who love and spoil her everyday.
Thrifting and buying secondhand is a great way to support the environment and cultivate a look and life that’s uniquely yours (often for way less money, too!). In a world of fast fashion, mass-produced decor, pollution, and wastefulness, it can be so rewarding to take something old and make it new. To take something that’s already been loved or abandoned and give it a new life.
Claire Harmon is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2023. She is studying library science and political science at the University of Louisville.