Riverside Rosemary | Strength in Mementos We Carry
Using Meaningful Objects To Ground and Soothe
A personal essay and optional writing prompt by clinical therapist Rosy Magana inviting reflection on a personal object that can support grounding and empowerment.
Audio Guide
Poem
Below is a poem on an 8-by-11–inch wooden print that I’ve carried with me wherever I’ve lived. It’s one of my mementos that reminds me of my strength, grounds me, and gives me hope.
Suenos de un Adolescente
Author: Unknown
No es suficiene anhelar algo
A menos que este decidido a conseguirlo
Noes sufiecente saber lo que esta
Correcto a menos que este
Conevncido de hacerlo
No es sufcienete conocer la Verdad a meno que Tambien aprenda
A vivir con ella
No es suficiente alcanzar el amor
A meno que este dispuesto
a compartirlo
Dreams of a Teenager
Author: Unknown
It's not enough to yearn for something
Unless you're determined to get it
It's not enough to know what's
Right unless you're
Convinced to do it
It's not enough to know the Truth unless you also learn
To live with it
It's not enough to find love
Unless you're willing
to share it
Reflections
When I was a month away from turning eight, my family moved from a Mexican immigrant neighborhood on the Southwest side of Chicago, where everyone looked like me, spoke Spanish and sometimes English, and ate the same foods I did (everything with a tortilla), to a predominantly white suburb. I started second grade and I realized, for the first time, that not everyone spoke Spanish…or even had alleys behind their home.
“I was different here.”
There were times when I was teased—for how I dressed, for my accent, for the lunches my mom packed. I tried so hard to fit in: with smiles, with jokes, with excelling in academics. But no matter what I did, I still felt different. And with that came feeling weird, strange, wrong, alone…and sometimes hopeless that I would never feel “normal” in who I was. I thought I had to change myself to belong.
One day, at the Dollar Tree in my suburb, right across the street from my middle school, I found a wooden art piece that caught my eye. It had ballet pointe shoes and music notes on it, and then I noticed the words. They were in Spanish. I grabbed it tightly, read the poem, and instantly felt seen, grounded, solid, and strong.
I’ve carried that 8-by-11 wooden print with me to every new apartment and every new challenge: being a first-gen college student, studying abroad, my first, second, and third apartments…all of it. And I still have it today. I look for it when I need hope or strength, when I need a reminder of what I’ve overcome, and the power I carry within me. Sometimes that strength isn’t at the surface, and this little memento brings it back.
When we’re in despair, feeling hopeless, or experiencing emotional, physical, or psychological pain, it can be incredibly grounding to have a physical object that connects us to our inner strength. A memento that reminds us of the values our family and/or community have given us, and the strength we’ve inherited from ancestors who overcame great challenges.
Think of something you’ve kept longer than you expected. Your memento might be a picture of someone special, a childhood family picture, a birthday card, a meaningful gift someone once gave you, a medal from a proud moment, an old journal, your grandmother’s old mug, Jarra, or molcajete, a special recipe, a comfy blanket, or a sweatshirt that reminds you of someone who once brought you comfort but is no longer here to hug.
Ask yourself:
What object brings me comfort just by seeing it or holding it?
What helps me feel grounded when I am overwhelmed?
There’s no right or wrong answer. Just notice what comes to mind.
What matters is that this object brings you comfort and reminds you that you are loved, that you carry incredible strength within you, and that hope is still there even if you need something tangible to help guide you back to it.
