I love being pocketless
[i]This is based on a piece I originally posted on Experience Project, reworded and updated in places.[/i]
This story starts when I was 13, while preparing for a family holiday in the summer. I couldn't find any of my shorts anywhere, and was eventually told that I had grown out of [i]all[/i] the ones I had the previous year. Which is absurd. And I never found out why they had been taken away without my knowledge and no replacements provided.
However, a pair I could have if I wanted were given to me. But they had no pockets. Where would I keep my money for souvenirs and stuff while out at tourist attractions in the area we holidayed to? Back in my home town, where would I keep my key to the house while out and about? Still, I thought maybe I would wear them on one day while we were on holiday, but in the end I didn't.
The following year I asked my parents to buy me some shorts, and saw to it that they had pockets. But in time I figured I was probably overreacting to the whole prospect of being pocketless. After all, I didn't [i]always[/i] need to carry keys or money - it was just habit that I nearly always did. Seeing others (sometimes around my age) out and about in this state of freedom, I wanted to overcome my dependence. I began to think maybe it would be nice to have one or two pairs of shorts without pockets, but didn't feel able to mention this to my parents. (Of course, having [i]some[/i] shorts with pockets is important - it was about relaxing my requirement that they [i]all[/i] have pockets.)
Eventually, when I was at college and buying my own clothes, I bought a few pairs of pocketless shorts. I began wearing them both around the college campus and for random walks in the surrounding area (which meant leaving my room unlocked, but that wasn't a big problem). I would also sometimes wear them while out from home with family members if I'm not going to need money. Even going for walks on my own when nobody else is in the house (which meant hiding the key). The sense of freedom from carrying my usual personal essentials felt good, and not even having a pocket to carry such things in made it feel even better.
On nights out at/from uni, there would be many girls without pockets in their attire. Most would have a handbag, hold wallet in hand or tuck it in waistband of skirt or trousers. But I had a renewed sense of envy as some would have no wallet or handbag to be seen at all. I never plucked the courage to ask these girls how they do it, who their 'human handbags' are or anything to that effect. I just revelled in awe and wonder at how they manage. And wished I could as well. (This showed at the occasional beach-themed Students' Union nights, where I liked to wear my pocketless shorts, though it did mean I had to hold my wallet a lot, sometimes putting it down where it hopefully won't get nicked.)
Also back in those days, my hall of residence organised a trip to Alton Towers (for those of you outside the UK, this is the biggest and most famous theme park we have over here), and one girl in our party went pocketfree and emptyhanded for the day. Naturally I wished I could do the same; this remains a fantasy of mine to this day.
And at weddings, it never ceases to amaze me that the bride and bridesmaids seemingly just manage.
Every summer since my college days, I have made use of opportunities to go out for walks in my pocketless shorts, with nothing on my person besides my clothes. I have been living with my grandmother for a number of years; when she acquired a key safe (so that carers and emergency responders can get in) using this replaced hiding the key under a brick in the back garden. I sometimes feel like I ought to have outgrown my love of doing this by now, but it has lived on. I found myself doing it more in 2020 as a result of the warm spring and circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this time of writing, I am in the process of moving into a place of my own. Whether I'll still be able to go out like this from my new base will remain to be seen, but I will probably make use of such opportunities that otherwise crop up.
This story starts when I was 13, while preparing for a family holiday in the summer. I couldn't find any of my shorts anywhere, and was eventually told that I had grown out of [i]all[/i] the ones I had the previous year. Which is absurd. And I never found out why they had been taken away without my knowledge and no replacements provided.
However, a pair I could have if I wanted were given to me. But they had no pockets. Where would I keep my money for souvenirs and stuff while out at tourist attractions in the area we holidayed to? Back in my home town, where would I keep my key to the house while out and about? Still, I thought maybe I would wear them on one day while we were on holiday, but in the end I didn't.
The following year I asked my parents to buy me some shorts, and saw to it that they had pockets. But in time I figured I was probably overreacting to the whole prospect of being pocketless. After all, I didn't [i]always[/i] need to carry keys or money - it was just habit that I nearly always did. Seeing others (sometimes around my age) out and about in this state of freedom, I wanted to overcome my dependence. I began to think maybe it would be nice to have one or two pairs of shorts without pockets, but didn't feel able to mention this to my parents. (Of course, having [i]some[/i] shorts with pockets is important - it was about relaxing my requirement that they [i]all[/i] have pockets.)
Eventually, when I was at college and buying my own clothes, I bought a few pairs of pocketless shorts. I began wearing them both around the college campus and for random walks in the surrounding area (which meant leaving my room unlocked, but that wasn't a big problem). I would also sometimes wear them while out from home with family members if I'm not going to need money. Even going for walks on my own when nobody else is in the house (which meant hiding the key). The sense of freedom from carrying my usual personal essentials felt good, and not even having a pocket to carry such things in made it feel even better.
On nights out at/from uni, there would be many girls without pockets in their attire. Most would have a handbag, hold wallet in hand or tuck it in waistband of skirt or trousers. But I had a renewed sense of envy as some would have no wallet or handbag to be seen at all. I never plucked the courage to ask these girls how they do it, who their 'human handbags' are or anything to that effect. I just revelled in awe and wonder at how they manage. And wished I could as well. (This showed at the occasional beach-themed Students' Union nights, where I liked to wear my pocketless shorts, though it did mean I had to hold my wallet a lot, sometimes putting it down where it hopefully won't get nicked.)
Also back in those days, my hall of residence organised a trip to Alton Towers (for those of you outside the UK, this is the biggest and most famous theme park we have over here), and one girl in our party went pocketfree and emptyhanded for the day. Naturally I wished I could do the same; this remains a fantasy of mine to this day.
And at weddings, it never ceases to amaze me that the bride and bridesmaids seemingly just manage.
Every summer since my college days, I have made use of opportunities to go out for walks in my pocketless shorts, with nothing on my person besides my clothes. I have been living with my grandmother for a number of years; when she acquired a key safe (so that carers and emergency responders can get in) using this replaced hiding the key under a brick in the back garden. I sometimes feel like I ought to have outgrown my love of doing this by now, but it has lived on. I found myself doing it more in 2020 as a result of the warm spring and circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this time of writing, I am in the process of moving into a place of my own. Whether I'll still be able to go out like this from my new base will remain to be seen, but I will probably make use of such opportunities that otherwise crop up.
41-45, M
