“Look at my new shoes!” “I just got the newest iPhone!” 

These are common statements we hear from our peers that usually bring us feelings of jealousy. I am not writing this to say that you cannot be jealous of materialistic things that people choose to spend money on, but I am here to say that you should not feel the need to spend your money on keeping up with the latest trends. 

People believe that when they buy themselves the newest materials, this will bring them happiness. They save up their money just to spend it all on one item they’ve had their eye on. When they finally get that item in their hands, they can’t wait to show it off to all their friends, bragging about all the hard work they put into affording it. The feeling they get knowing that their friends are jealous brings them that instant feeling of happiness they have been chasing. 

The truth is, after about two weeks of owning that item, the feelings they had slowly start to disappear and the item doesn’t have the same effect as it once did. Then, the cycle of saving up for another item starts all over again. People spend their whole lives trying to own the newest iPhone, Nike shoes or Lululemon clothing. This is not the way to live your life and is definitely not the way to always be spending your money. I am sure we can all relate to this way of life and how it feels to get new materials, but also how quickly the feeling wears off. 

Every year, I create my birthday list based on the trendy item of the time. One year, I wanted the new AirPods, and when I got them I was so happy, but after a few weeks of constantly sitting in my room listening to music, I put them off to the side for a long time and almost forgot about them.

Instead of this, we should put our money towards things that will actually bring us the happiness we truly want, which actually happens by spending money on experiences. 

Think about it. Most of your favorite memories come from experiences you’ve had, rather than an item. Invest in opportunities that will leave lasting effects on your life and things you won’t forget. 

Choosing to spend money on concerts, vacations and other things that allow you to live in the moment is the proper way to live your life. These experiences will bring you those amazing feelings of happiness that will last your entire life each time you think about that moment. We should all be working towards making as many memories as we can with our friends that will shape who we are in the future.

 There are many people that work towards owning items that are more necessary than the trendy items, like products for their home. These home items are more worth it because they will be fully used and not put to the side after a few weeks. Things like dishes, utensils and a vacuum are actually worth it. The issue comes when people are setting their goals for the items that will be tossed to the side after a short time.

As high school students, we should be saving up our money to spend towards these awesome experiences that will be worth a lot more money in the long run because we will have the lasting memory. I fully believe that it is not worth spending all my money now just because I want to fit in with current trends. I want to be able to have that money to be able to actually go out and experience the world.

This way, we know these memories will last a long time.We should be saving our money so we can tell our future kids about all of the fun experiences we had when we were younger and inspire them to do the same.