I recently deleted all my music.

Just under ten thousand songs. Some purchased, some carried over from archives that are at least seven years old. Most of it was pirated. But now all of it’s gone, erased. I traded in my iPod (30GB video) for some Gamestop store credit.

The recent events of my life, as well as some free time, have given me the opportunity for reflection. When I was younger I loved making lists, keeping an absolute inventory of everything I owned. Even when I was little I was worldbuilding, on a smaller scale than I am now for novels, but I wanted to know every single item and every single person’s name in the worlds I created.

But another purpose drove that almost compulsive need to inventory: minimalism. The eight-year-old Jared had a communist world: one type of car, one type of TV, one brand for everything. To this day, I keep a very small amount of possessions. Everything else I have is just “stuff” and I wouldn’t hesitate to leave it, or sell it.

My Kindle is a thin slab of plastic which now constitutes my entire library.

My USB drive, 2GB, is attached to my keys and has everything I’ve ever written.

Then there’s my games, my clothes, my photography equipment. And it’s all too much. Continue reading →