The magic behind thrifting
Before going thrift shopping you have to get ready to see past the draining fluorescent lights, the mixer smell of a nursing home and mildew, and the amount of time you have set aside to skim the aisles. Once you have seen past all of this and walk through the doors of a second hand shop you have entered a jungle of possibilities. You have geared up and gotten ready for your exploration, maybe with a certain find in mind or you may be an explorer searching for something unique and unseen.
You walk down rows of memories, the sweater someone may have worn on their first date, or the sweater someone wore on their worst date. As you pick up and put down what could go home with you someone had chosen to give up whatever material thing it is for someone else to experience. That could be the sweater you wear to your best, or worst, date ever. You both decided it is better to participate in reusing rather than wasting it away or participating in manufactured goods. You willingly chose to not go buying something new, produced in questionable conditions, vacant of a story, probably overpriced.
Written by Anamaria Flores, Class of 2021