“How good something is should never be determine by its cost, designer, origin, or its perceived value by others.” –Ashly Lorenzana

It is no secret that the world we live in ranks you on your material worth often times more than your personality or intelligence. We sometimes attach ourselves to objects or our material possessions so much that we forget who we really are.

Recently I had a bit of an inner feud with myself over a material item. Somehow, as I slept my nose ring came right out and the hole was so closed up by the time I noticed the next morning that neither of my nose rings or an earring would poke through. Without a needle or safety pin, I figured the amount of pain and bleeding I was putting myself through might not be worth it, and I LOVED my nose piercing. So I got upset, but why should I be? It’s a piece of jewelry. I realized I relied on something outside of myself to give me reassurance or confidence that I was beautiful.

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Today we try so hard to buy the ‘right’ clothes, ‘sickest’ shoes, own the most up-to-date technology or most expensive eye shadow pallet available. Not to say treating yourself to these things is bad, or that looking good is a crime. If you can afford these things comfortably, be my guest. Don’t get me wrong, I have thought about getting it re-pierced, and I would probably do it again. But, I know that spending $50 on a new nose piercing right now would not only would hurt, it would be more money than I want to spend as a college student.

But if something makes you feel good shouldn’t you do it? Maybe, but we shouldn’t just be going around comparing ourselves to others and buying all these things and changing our bodies because we want to be up to a certain standard set by our peers in society. Because once you reach the standard, whatever that may be, does that mean you will have eternal happiness? Probably not.

I’ve realized that there should be a lot more thought put into purchases. Buying something because its cute is fine, but is there a bigger reason to by that cute item of clothing? Is it for a special occasion or party, or just because you like it. Each time my inbox fills up with promotions from all of these stores, I think to myself “if I pass up on this deal it soul be like cheating myself right…?” wrong. If my only motive to buy something is so I can get 15% off, I should be unsubscribing from all of these toxic emails that get me to shop online more than the average person.

I’m not trying to discourage anyone from treating him or herself or not accepting a gift, I just think that our material items should be our items for a reason. A reason that is bigger than fitting into the standards of society. No matter what you do, what you look like, what you say or what you possess somebody will be right there with a negative comment or judgment. That is just the way the world works, but if you are confident in your material belongings and what they mean to you, that is worth more than any amount of money or array of materials.

“I am convinced that material things contribute a lot to making one’s life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.” –David Rockefeller