One item. That’s all you can take from the world. You’ve met death, its icy fingers gripping onto the warmth of your skin, jerking you into a world of darkness. And yet, before you slip away into the world of uncertainty, Death tells you this: You bring one item.


What would you bring? Wait, wait. Let me guess. Your phone, right? Then you could text and call everyone from whatever world you’re just about to enter. Those familiar voices that emit a certain comfort to the twisting knots of your stomach—that’s what you’d choose, isn’t it? Or would it be a computer? That way, you could constantly be connected with the lives of others.


Facebook would be your friend, wouldn’t it? You’d update about your new life, being in a world far away from the one many still live on. You’d have your computer, your connections, and what you think would be your entire life.


Perhaps you’re deeper than most. Perhaps you choose to bring some kind of memory, such as a photo album. The past is safe—it’s welcoming, and yet, at the same time, it’s haunting. The mistakes you’ve made, the regrets you hold in the depths of your heart. It all lies in those photo albums.


By now, you should be wondering, “What would I bring?” Clearly I, the one judging some of you, must have some kind of really fancy gadget—one that could connect me with the living, or even, one that could bring me back to life. However, to put it simply, my single item is not very fancy at all. In fact, it’s not a gadget. It doesn’t require anything, except a pen and a wild imagination.


I’d bring a notebook, and in that notebook, I’d fill each blank page with the words I hold inside. The blank white pages would hold that smell of a story waiting to be written. It holds potential, a sense of magic inside of them. Those simple pages hold a connection, not with others, but rather with nature. The pages that were taken from a living tree.


That’s what I’d bring. A notebook--a simple essence of my dream--a place to find some comfort, pages to write my story, and a chance to finally just stop the constant connection and just…write.

It would be a world without connections, and one, where any person could just pursue their dream.