"That's My Life"

I have always said that if I lose my wallet, I would lose my life. I would not lose my living, breathing life, but my identity would be greatly compromised.

My wallet is brown with a black stripe and it's YSL brand. It is more than twenty years old. I'd tried to replace it a few times but I haven't found anything that will serve me the same way. It's been a while since I have completely emptied my wallet, but I was not surprised at what I found. The first items that anybody would see will be my Washington's driver's license and my military ID. As I pulled out everything from the compartments, I found a MasterCard, Kohl's card, two check cards, voter registration cards, my children's account access cards, pictures of my kids, a picture of me with my husband, first aid card, Nursing assistant certification card, three calling cards, travel card, seven $2 dollar bills, sixteen dollars and a few coins, and certified mail receipt to the U.S. visa center.

What assumptions might someone make on what I carry? Anyone that knows their basic math would be able to tell that I'm forty-two years old. The pictures of my license and military ID were taken in 2007, so they're pretty accurate. Anybody might guess that I'm either Asian or Hispanic. My military ID has the most information on it. It has my husband's and my social security number, dates when he joined the Navy an it's expiration date, his rank, etc. My driver's license has my current address. If I lose my wallet, my hope is the finder will be honest enough to send it to my address. It would be right to assume that we've lived and traveled a lot, hence the travel card. My family and I have lived in six states and once overseas. I have two revolving cards I can't live without. I use my MasterCard with all my purchases to earn points for travel and I frequent Kohl's. My two check cards will reveal that I have two accounts. It is also safe to assume that since I have my kid's access cards, I do their financial transactions. Voter registrations cards - three of them - from Washington, Pennsylvania and Virginia, yes, I vote in every opportunity, caucus or primary, local to national. The pictures need to be updated.
My three kids are now teenagers. These pictures were taken when they were in first grade, K-4, and K-3. It would also be accurate to assume that I work in the medical field being evident by the first aid and certificate cards. I don't normally carry cash, so what are the $2 dollar bills doing in my wallet? There's a superstition in my home country that if there's money in your wallet at all times, you'll always have money! I guess that stuck in my memory or maybe because I collect them? The calling cards are my HR numbers, EVCC ID number and my credit union's phone numbers. The certified mail receipt to the visa center in New Hampshire was for my brother's petition to migrate to the United States. That never worked out despite all the costs involved.

People would miss my true identity if everything is based on what they'll find in my wallet. They would be unable to know my true character and passions. I am a born-again Christian, so my choice of music is pretty limited. I love and enjoy being with people. I especially enjoy those with great sense of humor and good comeback. People are usually surprised that I'm passionate about politics. I hardly know what show is on TV. I am a news junkie and my car radio is programmed to different talk shows. I have a lot of respect on others' beliefs and convictions. It is fun to listen to people to try to get their point across.

After scrutinizing what's in my wallet, my assumption that my wallet is my life is inaccurate. If my personal identity, in financial sense is compromised, it would be very difficult to fix. But besides that, everything in it is replaceable. I came to realize that my life is not what I have personally but what I am as a person.