Treasure Hunting: A Lost Tooth Found Me

BY SOPHIA MADORE

Welcome to the place I spent the past two years of college: the attic. I happily share this room with two of my best friends. However, this place is not only filled our college memories. When I look around, many subtle decorations take me back to past adventures.

Walking across my bedroom, I stroll by a tiny gold rock that sits on my desk. This gold rock transports me to the time I worked at the YMCA of the Rockies. Gold rocks are hidden around the YMCA for little kids to find--it is a great game that forces kids to pay attention to their surroundings. But, in my case, my rock saw me.

I was sitting on a picnic bench overlooking the mountains. I was trying to write in my calendar to plan my work week. All of a sudden my friend surprised me. He said, “A golden rock for you!” and handed me this tiny treasure. My friend giving me this tiny gold rock reminds me that even in the midst of the wonder of the mountains, I am noticed and appreciated.

MAYA FIDZIUKIEWICZ

Upon opening my dresser drawer, I scramble through my t-shirts and come across one with a great story. My junior year of high-school, I went to Poland for World Youth Day. Every four years, young Catholics from all over the world gather to have Mass with the Pope. Before I left for the trip, I was told to bring things to trade. I brought postcards from my homeland: Minnesota. Once we arrived in Poland, a couple of my friends and I went into a tiny yellow coffee shop to go to the restroom. As we were waiting in line, a group of guys from Hungary were standing across the hall waiting for the men’s restroom. The little high school me asked, “Do you guys have anything to trade?” They said no. Disappointed, I went to the restroom. As I walked out, one of the guys said that he did have something to trade! He pulled out this white wrinkly shirt from the bottom of his backpack that had Hungary written on the back. Trading a t-shirt for a postcard? Score for me! Over the years this t-shirt became a wardrobe staple. After many washes, the white colored shirt has changed to a dusty cream but is still a souvenir I treasure.

MAYA FIDZIUKIEWICZ

Finally, my eyes drift to the tiny shark tooth on my shelf, and I remember hunching over in a cluster of thousands of shells.

On the beach of South Carolina, I was trying so hard to find a shark’s tooth. Though it seems like a simple task, searching for a little black tooth is hard! Frustrated, I gave up—I didn’t need a shark tooth. All of a sudden an old man approached me and asked if I wanted a shark tooth. He handed me the tiniest one I have ever seen. The simplicity of this shark tooth and this random encounter with a stranger on the beach, brings me joy.

MAYA FIDZIUKIEWICZ

All of these souvenirs were gifted to me. Noticed, I received a golden rock. Sharing my home through a postcard, I received a piece of someone’s homeland: a Hungary t-shirt. Dreaming about finding an ocean’s treasure, I received a shark tooth. Our experiences, and the people in them, bring spontaneity into our lives. Like these souvenirs, adventure is a gift to be received. Little, but meaningful adventures tend to find us in ways that we might not expect. Souvenirs magnify memories and remind us to embrace the ones to come.