I Stole This From You

Stolen, borrowed or found, gifted or handed down — this is a collection of your precious things, and the sentimental stories behind them. Words by you, drawings by Sirin Thada.

[istolethisfromyou]

I’m super excited to announce that I have a new project, Our Colorful Moments, where I’m illustrating your stories again!! Some of you I’ve known forever, and I can’t thank you enough for growing with me all these years. I Stole This From You was such a treat to do – but it also made me realize that I needed to take a break from it to expand my illustration skills, get better, and draw faster. I truly hope you’ll join me on this new project – reading your words and getting a peek into your worlds makes my day, and it is truly an honor to get the chance to collaborate with you! xo

[istolethisfromyou]

I stole this from you. Well, you gave it to me on our second date. I don't plan on returning it. Mostly because I never want to see you again. Sometimes, because it's a reminder of when we fell in love at sixteen.

- Anonymous

[istolethisfromyou]

On one of the last days of senior high school, my friend was craving ice cream. So after class, about four of us went to the nearest supermarket and bought a pint of chocolate, a pack of mochi, and some pink spoons. "The unbreakable spoons," the package was labelled in red ink. Of course we had to take some of the extra spoons to test them out and see if they were indeed "unbreakable" as guaranteed. Twist. Fold. Turn. Soon enough, someone made it look like a cobra!

So, like those unbreakable spoons, our friendships had a few daring bends and turns. Eventually, one or two cracked under pressure, and the rest never came back the same.

- M.Y.A.

[istolethisfromyou]

This picture was taken right before we had to say goodbye to each other. Since then, time has passed and feelings have changed. This picture is a constant reminder that at some point in time, he used to love me.

-Christina

[istolethisfromyou]

In my china cabinet sits a small bronze urn. It's beautifully decorated, but still simple. Everyday I tell it "good morning," I yell at it when I'm mad, when my heart is broken I stare at it with tear-filled eyes, and every night I tell this little bronze pot "good night." You see, my Daddy is in there. His body, his smile, his big brown eyes. Our relationship was difficult when he used to be able to respond to all my conversation. In fact, for 15 years before cancer took his breath and his voice away, I got angry and hurt and I stopped talking to him altogether. So now he is trapped in this little bronze pot and I talk to him everyday. But he will never talk back. No more lectures, no more advice, no more scolding disapproval, no more "I love you," no more "Please call me, Tiffany" left on my voicemail. Just a little pot of ashes sitting in a glass case. I like to think he can hear me and just like always, he is trying to reach me, and I just won't listen.

- Tiffany Pryor

Instagram | Facebook

[istolethisfromyou]

I was a senior in high school and it was the night of prom. My big brother came over to see me before he had to go to work, and he brought me this necklace. It was the most beautiful necklace I had ever been given, and the stones even matched my prom dress. It is one of my favorite things. I wear this necklace every single day still, it's kind of my good luck charm.

- Scout Marie Mott

Instagram | Facebook

[istolethisfromyou]

My favorite object is my baby blankie. I still cuddle up with it every night and I'm 20 years old, about to have my own baby. It has always comforted me and helped me when I'm feeling sad... It's my go-to thing. It might sound weird, but I don't drink or do drugs, so I'd say I'm better off! I also love that it didn't start out as mine -- it was actually made for my oldest brother by our great grandma, but ended up getting passed down to me. It's very old and raggedy now, not much to look at -- but I love it dearly.

- Olivia Muriel Schenck

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[istolethisfromyou]

I have many favorite objects but the first thing that comes to mind is my one and only decorative pillow. It was my first "big girl item" my mom got me when I was six. This thing has seen better days, it's old and a little faded, but I love it. It was to help train me to make my bed every morning. There are very few things with the correct spelling of my name on it, so it was a big deal. To this day, it sits on my bed and I'm taking it to college with me this fall. I still make my bed every morning and without fail.

- Brittney

[istolethisfromyou]

I found this picture in our basement, and I absconded with it. It lives in my room now. It shows my grandfather (on my Dad's side) when he worked as a local radio host in the early 50s. I never had a chance to meet this man -- he died in the 70s, almost 15 years before I was born. He lived during a period of history that I am fascinated with, and I wish more than anything that I could have had a conversation with him. I've come to somewhat idolize him, even though my Dad reassures me that he was not a perfect person. Nonetheless, I am desperate to learn everything that I can about him, which is why I was rummaging in the basement in the first place. I am currently studying to be an archivist and my secret dream is to some day find a recording of his voice from his days on the radio.

- M. Reynolds

[istolethisfromyou]

Whenever I listen to this album, I think back to the time when I first heard this band live. I didn't know who they were then, but I knew they were good. Then I went to see them in Seattle, five hours away from where I live. It was the happiest day of my life. I met my best friend, and got to talk to the bands that were playing. And it's all because of this album.

- Esther

[istolethisfromyou]

This is a copy of "To Kill A Mockingbird" that Miss Nelle signed for me. I would never have asked her to do that, since I believe that to thank her is to not thank her. But, she signed a copy of the best book that will ever be written, the one that tells us everything we need to know about how to treat one another, and I have it and therefore no excuses for my sometimes ugly behavior.

- Shari Smith

[istolethisfromyou]

You lectured me about counting my rounds, shots fired, keeping track of my bullets, my damage, my loss. But this time, I managed to palm this: a dull, silver chunk of us. We were only ever friends. I grew to love you by the unfamiliar power you placed in my hands, but when we created our own power together it took us by surprise. We had one July together, and in a bright, burning, timeless joy, we rode waves of sex and wine and fire, we shot your guns and we drove at ridiculous speeds and we barely slept, and then I moved away. We pretended not to notice the demons between us. We missed each other. This summer I came back and so did the history between us, and when it caught up to us, we couldn't take it and said our goodbyes. I wish I had more than this to remember you by. But in a way, it's fitting. We were a shot never truly fired, but we still lost a round.

- DMC

[istolethisfromyou]

For as long as I can recollect, I've had an apathy for inanimate objects. So when given the chance, I enjoy liberating items from anonymity. Now that I've lived in one place for an extended amount of time, my home has become a menagerie for the misfit toys I've acquired and trinkets I've transformed. A bumper shard has been turned into the purple ghost Sue from Pac-Man, a classic army man is now gold. There's also a wooden middle finger my parents found on their car at a race, Wall-E grasping a helicopter with broken propellers, and a spinosaurus perched atop a piece of the Grand Canyon, just to name a very few. My home is their home for a second chance at life and to be appreciated.

- TATER

[istolethisfromyou]

When we first met, you called me "bold and outspoken." We used to Facebook message about everything. I started dating someone the same time I met you, and didn't have the lady-balls to get out of that relationship. This was your last gift to me before you went to college -- a picture with a note telling me to pursue my passions. There is not one piece of advice you gave that I didn't take. Everything you told me helped me to achieve great things, made me realize my purpose in life. I wish you knew how much you inspired me and that I wouldn't still be in love with you three years later.

- Anonymous

[istolethisfromyou]

When I was a child my father used to call me "Sunshine" because my favorite color was yellow, and I used to smile a lot. My parents then bought me a golden necklace with a sun on it and I wore it all the time. I still wear it today.

- moni-lisa.tumblr.com

[istolethisfromyou]

When I was four or five, I was in the gift shop of a hospital I visited often. My uncle had been swimming with friends in a lake and broke his neck diving in water too shallow. He remained paralyzed from the neck down for the short five years left of his life. A bone china German shepherd was in a glass case at my eye level, and my grandfather asked them to get it out. He handed it to me as the clerk warned him that I was too young to hold such a precious thing. He said, "She won't drop it. Will ye, Sissy?" and bought it on the spot.

It is 50 years old and remains intact.

- Shari Smith

[istolethisfromyou]

Six hundred miles and an argument away from you, I found your sweater in the backseat of my car. It smells like your skin and cigarettes, and it's the only thing that keeps me asleep at night now. I can't say that I've ever missed you more.

- Anonymous