Tall order out of chaos

I took out the small grey box from where it was carefully resting inside the chest of drawers, then placed it on the dining table in my apartment in Dubai.

The first item to catch my eye after I opened the box was the bright yellow New York Metro Card from 2005. As I reached inside to take out the pass, which was still in its plastic cover, a hundred memories flashed through my mind from the time I spent in the "city that never sleeps".

Digging a little deeper, I also came across my handful of old movie tickets, a habit that stems from my passion for film. A few theatre show passes and plane and train tickets from around the world reminded me of little adventures while navigating my way through such places as Paris, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

A couple of foreign currency notes seemed to add a dash of colour and vibrancy to the grey.

It's no secret: I don't like to throw things away. It seems to me that everything has sentimental value. I have a torn-up Dh10 note from a trick performed by an Emirati illusionist, press passes, postcards and a few hotel brochures. I even kept a couple of National Rail return tickets from Manchester to London; oh, and of course, trips on the Dubai Metro and that Captain Jack dhow boat ride from when my cousin was visiting from Canada (don't judge).

I realise that while I have treasured the little bits and pieces I've picked up along my journey in life so far, they are not in any particular order. My life's work can be seen therefore as an "organised mess" because I have more boxes filled with even more memories in my family home in the UK.

During a recent interview with the inspirational photojournalist Susan Mieselas, whose work has been published on the front covers of countless magazines and newspapers including Time, Life and The New York Times, she said that everyone had the ability to be the curators of their own lives - and that stuck with me.

I know I am not alone in also keeping hundreds of photographs that I've taken, that are still on memory cards or on my laptop.

So, while browsing through a bookshop last week, I picked up a scrapbook with the aim of bringing some kind of order to my experiences to date. I was not prepared, however, for how overwhelming the process can actually be.

There are countless methods and ideas for ways of scrapbooking, so coming up with one that best complements your individuality can take time.

The hobby has become so popular in recent years that there are even scrapbooking retreats and holiday packages to unlock your creative potential.

Maybe I should use my so-called scrapbooking block to jet off to Mexico, the Caribbean or take an art-themed adventure in England then and get lost in all the paints, tissue paper and mixed media?

melshoush@thenational.ae