Yes, it’s undoubtedly that time of year again, when pumpkin flavors emerge and boots of all sorts come out in full force. It’s fall, of course! And, if you’re anything like me, you’re super excited for all the amazing and wonderful things this season has to offer. With leaves changing colors, delicious food being made, and homey bonfires crackling away, it’s hard not to enjoy everything that goes on. Fall, autumn, or whatever you’d like to call it is seriously the best time of the year. And with Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s especially important to be grateful and spend extra time with your loved ones, which is always a treat.
However, with the thought of Thanksgiving approaching, it’s hard to avoid the constant reminder of Black Friday. Ads are distributed throughout newspapers and on the Internet, while commercials run hourly to display the stores and their popular sales. To sum it up, this particular day involves stores opening early on Friday morning (the day after Thanksgiving) for the sole purpose of consumers purchasing goods at a discounted price and retailers making money. Basically, Black Friday is a shopper’s dream, but an employee’s nightmare.
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And quite honestly, I hate the thought of Black Friday; but that’s not to say that I haven’t done my fair share of shopping at that time. I think we all have gone at some point or another. As a college student, sales and discounted items are like music to my ears, and I know for a fact that many other people (like families) feel the same way. I definitely see the appeal in some of the items being sold, such as TVs or appliances, at a reasonably low cost, as compared to their actual retail price. There are, without a doubt, some great deals during Black Friday. Unfortunately, people tend to overlook the fact that there will be some sort of “deal” or “sale” all the way up until Christmas. Yes, there may be slight differences, but the fact is, unless you do your own research to find the most marked-down items, you’ll still end up paying an amount that will remain the same after Black Friday. Bargains will often come in waves, so why miss out on a day dedicated to being grateful and being with your family?
Like many other things, there are positives and negatives to shopping during Black Friday. Deals may be spectacular, but so will the ones on Cyber Monday, or a random day during the week. Our culture is so obsessed with money and materialistic items that we often overlook the simplest things in our lives. We forget to be thankful for the blessings we do have, while focusing too closely on the things we do not. Thus, the real problem I personally have with Black Friday is that it defeats the whole purpose of Thanksgiving, which is to spend time with your loved ones and give thanks. People leave early from family parties to go (quite literally at the crack of dawn) to participate in the Black Friday experience, while retail employees depart at an even earlier time to prepare for the madness ahead. It’s crazy!
I wish it could some how be altered or shifted to another day, but realistically, that probably won’t happen. My hope nevertheless is that people put considerable thought into their holiday plans and choose appropriately if and when they decide to go Black Friday Shopping.
