Hey tumblr! Long time no see, my bad. Life has been crazy over here. The new jobs got me BUSY but I like it lol that’s not why I’m here though!
So story time. I went to Earp Expo two weeks ago and had a flipping blast! One of my goals while I was there was to give something really special to Dominique.
A little back story on this before I launch into the good stuff! After Earpapalooza I got myself (and my 2 best friends) a necklace that said breath. It reminded me of this moment at Earpapalooza where Dom took my hands and told me to breath and then stared into my soul. It was the first time we had met, and she could sense my anxiety. That whole moment calmed every nerve and was honestly the best moment of that trip for me (other than meeting my best friends). The necklace was from a company called The Giving Key. An amazing company that aims to employee homeless people in California and help get them off the street, into homes, and well paying jobs. The point of their company is that you buy a key necklace with a word on it. A word you’d like to embrace. A word with significance. Any word. Some keys are premade with words and proceeds are donated to a certain cause. Some you can customize and pick the word you want. Once you feel like you’ve embraced that word, you give it away. To someone who you know needs it. To someone you feel embodies it. To anyone you want! And it’s great because then they get to give it to someone else, and eventually somewhere in the world a stranger is going to have this same connection as you did to this little key. I love that concept. It’s a great company and you should look them up!
ANYWAYS! I tell you this because my “breath” key helped a lot with my anxiety after I got it. It saw me through a really hard time at my old job. A transition into a new one. A lot of high stress moments where I found myself reaching to my chest for the key to comfort me, and it worked! It did it’s job. It brought me back to the present every time. So I decided when I bough my ticket to Expo, that I was going to give my key to Dom. Now, I know this sounds crazy but for real, I grew VERY attached to this key and it wasn’t something I took lightly. But I felt like she would appreciate it. She would get it, and what it meant to me, and she would take care of it and make it her own. I’m speaking about this key like it’s a child, but for real, if you know me you know I lose everything and I managed to not lose this that’s how much it meant to me. I knew she’d love the concept of the connection it creates. And I know she struggles with anxiety, and it helped a lot with mine so, I knew what I wanted to do.
Earp Expo was amazing. The lines were LONG for Dom but we made it. The day comes and it’s my turn. I show her the group picture I wanted her to sign, and she examined it like it was a scientific anomaly or something (you can kind of see I’m wearing it here).
So finally, after her examination was done, I said “I have something to give you” she looked up very excited. I explained my necklace, the company, why I chose the word breath, and what it’s meant to me, suprisingly clearly may I add. Then I took it off my neck and I said “I want you to have it”. At first she didn’t want to take it and kept asking “are you sure?” in her beautiful little accent. And I said “I’m sure.” I got a new necklace that said “choose love” that I’m hoping sees me into my next steps in life of finally opening myself up to someone. I told her it was hers to keep, wear, or give away now. We bonded over the fact that I told her how the word was a little worn out because I rubbed it with my thumb when I felt anxious, and played with the chain when I was restless, and she said she did the same with one of her other necklaces! She immediately put it on, and it hung PERFECTLY around the rest of her necklaces. It was weird, she even acknowledged how perfect it was. Then we took this picture.
Then I left and that was that. My necklace was in good hands and I was happy.
Fast forward to yesterday at work. I was feeling completely overwhelmed. I could feel the anxiety looming over my ready to attack, and out of instinct went to reach for my necklace…and it wasn’t there (of course I had forgotten to put on my new one that day!). I had a moment of panic. I went to the bathroom and took some breaths, and continued on. But it was the first time I really missed it. BUT THEN, the second I stepped out of the office that day I got a text from my best friend Lexi (who took the picture above) and it said “IS THIS YOURS?” with this picture:
There it is. And I was overwhelmed with comfort knowing she has it. Maybe it’s bringing her some peace. Maybe it’s just an accessory. I don’t know but I’m glad it’s hers. And I’m glad she’s wearing it. And I’ll be glad when she give it away to some special person who needs it. And that’s the story of my little key, that is now Dom’s little key! Thanks for listening!