This is the story about how, in this holiday time of gift giving and consumerism, I decided I don’t need any more things

My life is pretty great. I have a family who loves me, amazing friends, and opportunities for the future. I'm even lucky enough to go to the world's best university (TAMU-gig all of them). I also have every material item I could ever want. I own enough clothing that I can get away with not doing laundry for a very long time, Apple products galore, and books to line an entire wall of my bedroom. I currently have four pairs of running shoes and enough rings for every finger plus some. No one girl needs as many things as I have, and a scary thought is that compared to most people I’m not on the extreme end. I wouldn’t consider myself spoiled, but I am definitely a player in this game of American indulgence.

Last month I watched a documentary called The True Cost, a film about the global fashion industry and on the impact our buying habits have on the rest of the world. It opened up my eyes to things I had unknowingly ignored my entire life, mainly how wasteful most people are and with such quick-changing desires. We buy new cars every three years, even though the old ones still run; new coats every winter that might get worn only twice; and new phones whenever our networks decide to grace us with a new model.

We take for granted innovation because it's so fast-paced and because the effects of our doing so doesn’t affect us directly. I’m speaking broadly here, and am also claiming my part in this. Not only does fickle buying and discarding cost us money, it has an adverse affect in the workers producing these goods, and also on the environment. Cheap labor leads to bad conditions and unfair wages. Constant production eats away at resources and creates waste which goes into already bursting landfills. Both of these outcomes have a deep connection to our want for more.

I think this complicity is mostly due to a lack of awareness on our part. The materialism, though, likely stems from thinking these things will make us happy in the long term. So, to do my part in combatting this, I’ve decided to stop buying new unnecessary things. I’ll avoid trigger stores like Target and Forever 21 where everything is cute and where my self-restraint goes out the window. I can use the things I already have until they wear out. Obviously I’ll still need to shop from time to time for but it will be to a lesser extent and only to get things I really need. I have a roof over my head, food to eat, knowledge to discover, and people to share it with. Some people make do with much less than even that and are happy regardless.