I have recently found myself eyeing items of expense. From things like clothes and shoes to accessories and sunglasses, the more expensive it was, the more I wanted it. As a college student, it is unrealistic to think like this because college students are constantly ballin' on a budget, so why do I find myself wanting such expensive things?

Growing up, I was never raised to believe that I needed the most fine things. We were never a "keeping up with the Jones's" kind of family. As I got older though, I found myself wanting to have the latest trends more and more. In middle school it was everything Abercrombie & Fitch. In high school it was Urban Outfitters and Free People. And now college is where I really find myself wanting finer things, but now I am not just eyeing the typical trends. I am going for more expensive designer things, and as previously stated, this is not something that is within my budget as a broke college student.

I feel that as I get older, I need to have more nice things in order to maintain a status in the world that I am trying to fit into. But being on a budget while being bombarded with constantly changing trends, it is impractical to believe that I can have what is best the second it comes out.

I believe that all of this comes from social media and following celebrities so closely. As someone who is an avid follower of celebrities and someone trying to make it in the entertainment industry, it is no wonder that I constantly find myself watching what celebrities do. I am always looking to them for the hottest trends, and their trends tend to be pretty expensive. It is sometimes hard to remember that we live completely different lifestyles. It is easy for a celebrity to go spend $500 on a pair of sunglasses while I find it difficult to spend even $10 on a meal when I could be eating in the dining hall. It is easy to want to maintain an elite status, just like celebrities, but that is not the reality.

I'd like to think that one day I will be able to live an elite lifestyle like the celebrities that I follow, but until that day comes, I will just continue to follow trends that are more in budget as someone trying to leave college with as little debt as possible.