Are there really any options?
More often than not, when we turn on the television, the movies that are on involve sex, violence or action. The same goes with movies in the theater. It is hard not to notice the overwhelming Blockbusters that are produced each year… even month, that involve one of these three aspects.
Where to Look?
Girls often look to magazines or celebrities to shape how they dress or how they act. This picture respresents a young girl trying to fit in and where she chooses to look to find out how to become popular.
Model Factory
In today’s world, pressures from different media make us feel like we have to look a certain way to be beautiful. The media produces woman after woman who they proclaim to be perfect (stick figures), and many people buy into this. But the truth is, perfection lies in the eyes of the beholder… and beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
My history as a consumer…
Consumerism has always been a part of my life. When I was a young child, I remember thinking and asking, “I want that! I want that!” I suppose I didn’t realize that some of the things I wanted may have been out of my parent’s financial reach… but on the other hand, perhaps I was too young to care. My Life-Size Barbie (Age 6, 1994) was pretty cool. Me and my sister could dress her up any way that we wanted too and she did have the prettiest clothes.
FAO Schwartz is probably one of the coolest toy stores ever! The one in Florida is huge and I remember being astounded by the size when I saw it. Toys were everywhere and it was overwhelming. That day I got not one, but two Furbies (Age 9, 1997). My Furbies were so cute… and kind of creepy looking back now.
Probably the most significant purchase in my childhood was the Spice Girl dolls (Age 10, 1998). Talk about obsessed. I lived, breathed, sang, talked about the Spice Girls. I had pictures, CD’s, videos and magazines of them. There was only one thing I was missing: the dolls. I wanted those dolls… I needed those dolls. And guess what? I got those dolls. This I remember like it was yesterday. Me, my sister and my grandparents were driving to New York to visit family and we made a pit stop at a Toys R’ Us. My grandfather ran inside and came out with all five Spice Girl dolls. It was the coolest thing and we were so excited. We made sure to keep them in the box… at least for a day! Looking back they really were probably the most useless purchase.
A picture of my friends (from left to right) Jamie, Samantha and me at our fifth grade Halloween Party.
Now, rollerblade shoes (Age 10, 1998) were one of the coolest gifts I ever got. They were old school all right. There was no click of a button and out came the blades. They looked more like moon boots than sneakers… but I loved them. I wore them everywhere and with everything.
The cell phone (Age 16, 2004) was by far the most significant purchase in my childhood, mainly because I still use one today. I wanted a cell phone so bad. All my
friends had one and I wanted one so bad. My mom kept saying no but I knew I could wear down my dad… and I did. He took me to the store shortly after Christmas and got me a new cell phone! Thanks dad!
Overall, I feel like I wasn’t as bad as some children today in getting my way. When I look at my cousins and see all the presents they get for Christmas, it baffles me, not that I didn’t get a lot for Christmas each year, because I did!
This is a picture of my cousins Jack and Mia on Christmas morning opening up mounds of presents. Jack was happy with only one, after that he didn’t want to open up anymore… while Mia loved all of them!
This is just the American way of like though, and it will probably never change. My family, along with other families, want to provide the best for their children and buying them things is often the way to do it.
The Way We Were... 