I grew up collecting stuff- none of which had much value outside of stories I infused into it. They were mine in a specific place and time, and carried the weight of whoever I was at that moment. When I drove out to Los Angeles, I left a lot of stuff behind, and felt the wonder of having all of my belongings in one place. It was freeing to know what I had, and what I needed, and to feel like I had a grasp on the difference between the two.

When I moved out to LA, I shared a house with 7 of my best friends for four years. Around the time TUFT started working on this album, my housemates and I each moved out to live in separate one-bedroom apartments and become adults. I went through the gathering-things-up-and-throwing-things-away process again. Before we left, we all carved our names into a secret spot in the house. I have done that every place I've lived. It eases my moving anxiety to know I have left my mark in a place.

I currently have 2,133 photos on my phone. I haven't asked anyone else, but I imagine it's a similar number for most people. I used to keep all my pictures in a little album that could physically only hold 32 pictures at a time. What am I going to do with these thousands of pictures? They mark a place in time where I was somewhere pretty, or with someone I loved, but I can't go back to that place in that moment ever again. I'm moving more completely into the carving mindset: make a mark, take comfort knowing that it's there, but never look at it again.