Black Friday

           Finally! I had a week where I could wear Elmo pajamas, eat junk food, and make minimal movements off the couch without being judged! It was good to be home and be satisfied doing absolutely nothing. I was surrounded by family and friends who had no expectations of me, who could possibly be trying to manipulate me? 

            Since I was dissociated from most human contact and adhered to the sofa, I soon found the manipulative perpetrator on the television. There it was: Black Friday. Sales were advertised everywhere: save 50%, get cash back, only until 4 a.m., buy one get one free. I had no desire to spend, but I was bombarded with advertisements which convinced me otherwise.

            On Thanksgiving day I was laying on the couch at my aunt's house after a food induced coma and all I could think about was shopping. My family spent the entire day cooking a good meal and was all together for the first time in months. I was seeing the damage Hurricane Sandy caused in my area first hand and heard about all the efforts to help those who were now homeless. How could I be so selfish and only think about buying new clothes? Especially since I didn't even feel the desire to buy anything until after I saw all the advertisements.

            At that moment I chose to change my ways and emerged from the couch. In one deep breath I overcame the coma and like someone who still had some self-respect, sat up for the first time in days*. I rejoined my family in the living room, where we played a grueling round of Charades, ate some more food, and ran around playing with our younger cousins. (*parts of the sentence may have been embellished to cover the embarrassing and lethargic manner in which I actually ascended the sofa).

            I decided not to go Black Friday shopping because I knew I really wanted to spend time with my family instead of spend money. I woke up the morning of Black Friday at nine (when you fall asleep at 8 because you ate your weight in food, nine is not really that early) and found my mom getting ready to go to the mall. Even though I tried to be valiant and avoid the manipulative system, which girl would refuse to go shopping and buy new clothes? So as I sit here typing this blogpost in my new light blue long sleeve from Express, I accept the title of "hypocrite" and realize it is much harder to fight a system you have already assimilated into.