What a Bag Once Meant
For a long time, a bag was never just a container for my belongings. It was a symbol of who I was—my position, my work, my personality, my style.
Carrying a luxury bag was a way to signal financial confidence. Choosing a trendy design meant showing that I was keeping up with the times. And whenever my clothes alone felt insufficient to express myself, a bag always became the strongest statement piece.
“The bag mirrored the weight of my life—the more I emptied it, the freer I became.”
This image was created as a visual interpretation of my essay ‘The Moment a Light Bag Changed My Life.’ The oversized bag represents the weight I once carried, while the solitary figure sitting before it embodies the present self confronting that weight. It reflects not the physical burden, but the emotional process of letting go — of lightening both the body and the mind.
A Weight I Always Carried
Because of my profession, I had to experience many different kinds of bags.
It was part of my work to test them—style, function, trend.
Totes, clutches, backpacks, crossbody bags. I went through countless designs, each chosen with a purpose.
But despite all the variety, one thing never changed: my bag was always heavy, and my shoulders were always burdened.
There was always a laptop. A cosmetic pouch. A wallet. Papers that I might need, though rarely did. Each morning I stuffed them in, telling myself it was necessary.
But by the end of the day, I realized the weight wasn’t only from the objects. It came from the constant worry of “what if.”
Choosing to Carry Less
Recently, I began carrying only a small tote.
At first, I was uneasy. What if I forgot something important?
But to my surprise, most of the things I thought were essential were barely used at all.
Now I take only what truly matters—my phone, my wallet, a few small items.
And that one simple choice has transformed the rhythm of my days.
When the load lightened, my steps naturally did too.
On the bus, climbing the stairs, or walking home after a long meeting, I no longer felt weighed down.
And with that physical relief came an emotional shift.
“Take only what you need today.”
This small principle became a habit, and soon it extended beyond my bag.
I began letting go of unnecessary worries and focusing more on what I actually wanted to do.
“All the things I thought I might need — it wasn’t the weight of the bag, but the weight of uncertainty that burdened me.”
This image represents the anxiety I used to carry every day — the endless “just in case” mindset. Each pocket symbolizes a piece of that prepared anxiety, and the person holding the bag is the version of myself who thought she had to bear it all. In the end, the true weight was never the bag — it was the worry and responsibility I refused to set down.
Emptying Life’s Weight
That’s when I realized: a bag mirrors the weight of life itself. The more I filled it, the heavier I became. The more I let go, the freer I felt.
How often do we cling to things out of fear—“just in case”?
How much of what we carry is truly essential, and how much is only the weight of our own anxiety?
These days, I practice carrying less—not just in my bag, but in my life.
And every morning when I pick up my tote, I remind myself:
Light, but deep.
This is the way I choose to live now, and the story I want to share here, with you.
