Change is Hard Stuff(ing): Plushies Can be a Constant

I wake up every morning with 10 pairs of eyes staring at me. If that situation sounds scary, it's not—these eyes belong to my prized stuffed animals, which line the side of my bed like a not-so-fierce personal army. 

There’s Foxy the fox, who is humongous but sweet. Next to Foxy is Guy, the duck. Guy is a hopeless romantic and war veteran, named after the character of the same name from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Then there’s Pond the chicken, Paul the panda, and Bear the porcupine (I thought he was a bear). The list goes on. I’ve always found my stuffed animals endearing with their floppy limbs and smiling eyes. Only as of lately have I begun thinking about how these inanimate plush toys have supported me and what it might mean to leave them behind. 

It occurred to me recently that I will be going to college in a few months and my plushie army will not be going with me. I would take all of them if I could, but the limited space of a freshman dorm simply does not allow it unless I want an overpopulated bed and an angry roommate. It also dawns on me that I, along with many of my peers, are getting to the age where people are supposed to outgrow things such as cartoons, slime, and stuffed animals. Is this transition, a weaning off of childlike possessions, simply a natural and inevitable process? Is the passage between kid to adult the time to leave plushies behind? I think the answer, to both of these questions, is no. Rather, there’s no better time than one’s tumultuous teenage and adult years to embrace a plushie friend. 

I can bring one or two stuffed animals to college, but choosing is an impossible task. They are all special to me in different and equally important ways. On top of the comfort that they bring from being soft and cuddly, each of my stuffed animals is a reminder of a period of time or person in my life. Foxy was a birthday gift from my dad. Two identical versions of Guy belong to friends from my skating team and are named after characters in the same movie. My stuffed animals connect me to some of my most near and dear memories. They keep me grounded in my past experiences while comforting me as I take my next steps. This kind of attachment is especially important through periods of change. 

At their heart, stuffed animals are transitional objects, objects that people use for comfort in unfamiliar places or distressing situations. Children, who undergo the transition from dependence to independence, easily build relationships with transitional objects. Transitional objects such as stuffed animals satisfy a person’s need for support and stability while other elements of their life are uncertain. But, if stuffed animals can help people overcome periods of change, adults have just as much reason to own and play with stuffed animals as kids do. 

In February, I stopped figure skating competitively after ten years of routine practice, travel, and competition. For as long as I could remember, I skated nearly every day, and  suddenly, I had an uncomfortable amount of free time. This all-to-nothing change made me feel like I lost a big part of my identity. I was ready to leave the sport, but it hurt to think that the joys I shared with my team were all in the past. When I look at Guy the duck and Pond the chicken, both of whom I acquired during skating trips, I am soothed into adapting a more forwards-looking mindset. Like my stuffed animals, who remain by my side, I can allow my good memories to be my companions instead of pushing them away because they are over. Who I am and where I come from are not things that are lost when I stop playing a certain sport or spending time with certain people. I find this notion very comforting as a senior. 

There are many changes to expect in the coming months. I’m going to be graduating high school and heading off to college. After that, I’m not quite sure, but I know I can always rely on the cushion of my plushie friends. There’s a famous quote by Heraclitus: “The only constant in life is change.” Change follows everyone throughout their lives, so why can’t stuffed animals?

by VIVIAN WANG