Baggage Claim
Iyalua Pope
Photography by Vogue Paris
i take pride in knowing that i have these weird theories about life and living. One of my favorites is the ‘bedroom theory’. Basically, i’ve always been a believer that your room is an exact reflection of your mind. If your room is a cluttered.. well.. so is your mind. (don’t be ashamed girl, my mind and my room is always a hot a** mess). If it’s tidy and organized, then you’re probably well on your way to being on the Forbes 30 under 30. If your room is a mess because you got some things you can’t let go of.. and you don’t have a proper place for them fit neatly in your room, two pieces of advice from me to you. 1. let it go, sis and 2. examine your emotional plane. You might be weighed down by baggage that doesn’t even belong to you! And in 2017, when we tryna secure the bag, we ain’t got time for that.
As you read baggage claim, keep the bedroom theory in mind. Always remember to pack light and stay organized. Stay golden ✨
Photo by GIPHY
i decided yesterday that I was going to pick up and go. step out on faith, whatever you wanna call it. i just gotta get away from this place i’ve made a home. so i packed up and i left. didn’t tell nobody where i was going. figured it’d be peaceful that way. i had my mind set on a destination and i didn’t want nobody to try to talk me out of it so kept it all to myself. i figured this was between God, me and my stuff.
i arrived at the airport the next morning. Me and all my bags. i don’t know how, but i managed to get them all inside and checked in. 478 whole dollars just so that i can carry all that stuff with me. i asked myself, ‘do you really need this stuff?’. i retorted yes loudly in the airport to everybody and nobody at the same time. Surely, the crying wolf made all the sheep alert. But nonetheless, me and my carry-ons meandered our way to the security checkpoint where i got held up over the particulars of what is and what isn’t appropriate and what can and cannot be taken on this journey with me. i had trouble parting ways with my stuff, but i had no choice. It was either throw it away and get to where i'm going or waste $478 and stay home..
i almost missed my flight. can you believe it? i mean, is it really that hard to believe? these bags are slowing me down! but conveniently enough the last row on the left was empty when i finally boarded. i took the window seat. and i dropped my bags in the other two seats next to me just in case somebody wanted to sit down while they waited for the bathroom. tuh, not today. the flight attendant tried to tell me that i had to move my stuff to the floor for ascension, i flipped her the bird and strapped my bags into the chairs. my declaration that the 478 paid for their seats..
Photo by GIPHY
when i finally landed and got off the plane i made my way to baggage claim. but this time i paid the guy ride me through the terminal so i didn’t have to be so long. when i finally got to baggage claim, my bags came up one directly after another. it was like hell trying to catch them all by myself. i must have looked like a thief in the night. no one person should have all them bags! in thinking to myself. once i got them all, i was exhausted. i self- consciously made my way out of the way so that i could call my uber and get where i gotta go. but i'm tripping over these bags and ughhhhhh! this one just ripped… this is a hot mess!!!
so when i reached my destination, i took a good look at my appearance. bags and all. i looked a hot mess, but 'a hot mess' is an aesthetic i embrace so i dismissed it. threw the bags down and started familiarizing myself with this new town i'd be calling home. i took to the town. gathered some moss and made acquaintance with some people. and before long, i forgot about my bags and made what i thought was a home out of my new destination.
i think i may have taken too long to get settled into my place because i invited this guy home one night and the first thing he said when we got there was, 'why do you have so many bags?' lied and said some of them belonged to my sisters (that don't exist). i only brought a few and the rest were shipped ahead of them. but maybe the tone of my voice or the expression on my face gave it away, i don't know. but what i do know is that he didn't believe me. he told me he was going to the bathroom and he dipped. never saw him again. guess he thought if we got close i'd crowd his space because there's no way possible that any one person should have all those bags..
savoring the embarrassment endured by me and my bags the night before, i started to unpack. the most gruesome task i could have ever encumbered myself with. i mean seriously. i found bags inside of bags, inside of bags inside of bags. bags that didn't even belong to me. stuff i shouldn't have been carrying in the first place! i can just hear that ghost laughing at me, calling me all kinds of dumbasses. and i couldn't even rightfully be the least bit angry. funny how i didn't mean to bring a lot of these things, but here they are staring me right in my face like i owe them rent. halfway thru my baggage, i stood in the middle of my place and let out a deep ass sigh. No one person should have all these bags.
it finally became clear to me that I have got to get rid of some of these bags. i brought that same home i was escaping from right along with me. my room had become overcrowded and overcapacity. since that baggage has been evicted i've been living life. and this one person will never have that many bags again.
Photo by GIPHY