Dear Thrift Stores,

I love you! There I said it now everyone knows! And what isn't there to love about you; from your clothes to your housewares you make every aspect of my life a million times better! You inspire me to take chances and to live as a new person every morning. You refresh my wardrobe whenever I need it. And you do it all without judging me! I love your jeans that cost a fraction of what brand new jeans do. I love that you have rows and rows of dress pants. And I love that in the middle of the summer when it is hotter than it should be in July I can still buy a chunky knit sweater. I honestly adore your sweater selection, it brings me so much joy to see that rack every time I come in. I love the second-hand shoes, I love that my favorite shoes have all come from thrift stores and I am unashamed of that.

And what about your home goods? How could we forget the fact that you enable my mug collection and you are unabashed about it? That everytime I am in I can find a new gem to add to my collection. Or that once I got all of my table service for a dinner party from a thrift store. That your plates are worthy of homes where they will be used, with their mod designs and traditional china patterns. And the home decor worthy of any Grandma's home. But when on that one random excursion I do find a treasure it has to be swept up. Oh and your media! How could I forget your endless $0.99 vinyls? The records that started it all came from you! And the books: paperback, hardback, and children's, enough to fill so many libraries!

Oh, Thrift Stores how my love for you has grown. I remember being a young boy and my single mother, who shopped in you because it was affordable and not at all because it was cool, filling my wardrobe with your beautiful garments. And from that time on my love for you has only grown! And now pop culture loves you, how can that even be? I guess we have Macklemore to thank for that! You have changed my life for the better and I truly mean that from the very bottom of my heart!

All my love,

Ethan