D’Arvit!

My sister and I were at Zara in Rockwell a while ago to exchange my damaged winter jacket for a new one–yes folks, I’m REALLY leaving for the states. While I was at the counter checking out my jacket’s replacement, I noticed a girl paying for a tiny item at the cashier. She asks for the amount, and upon hearing the cashier lady’s curt reply, the twenty-something girl beside me gives out a very bored sigh, and dishes out a five-hundred peso bill. After claiming her change, she lifts her seemingly newfound trophy–a testament of her elite status: a ZARA paperbag.

Oh, puh-leeeze.

Is this another version of the “Starbucks Folly” our country had a few years back? For some of you who couldn’t remember, as soon as the “green monster” [rival company Seattle's Best coined that term for our good ol' Starsky] hit the Philippine shores a few years back, hordes of coffee enthusiasts, addicts, and non-drinkers alike flocked to sample its caffeinated goodness, dubbing it as “the place to be”. Soon enough, non coffee-drinkers such as pre-pubescent little girls started “hanging out” at the said coffee shop in order to “be seen” drinking the prized designer coffee. Having no actual business there except for being seen holding the prized plastic tumbler, they would buy short frappes, and take in tiny sips in order to prolong their stay. It was a so-called “status symbol” at that time; a ticket to being associated with other members of society’s “elite”.

Bah, the shallowness of that mentality. That is soooo… Sweet Valley-ish. It is in this same mentality that the twenty-something girl beside me at ZARA triumphantly brandishes her tiny paperbag. It’s just too annoying. Ok, so ZARA is totally new, and yes, their clothes are really awe-inspiring, but…. so what?

Does having a ZARA paperbag prove anything? No it doesn’t. If you bought something there, it either means that you are (a) in need of relatively cheap winter clothes [they're cheaper there than the ones sold abroad]; or (b) you just like their clothes. A third category, (c), could be created for the twenty-something girl I saw: for the “trying-hard social mountaineers“. [Figure that out, hehe] If you’re going to make a purchase anywhere [not just at ZARA], make sure that you’re buying it because you really need/want/love/adore the item and not only for the sake of bragging about it to other people. If you’re gonna go, say, to Marks & Spencer’s to buy a tiny packet of jellybeans just to get to wave around a Mark’s paperbag, then to hell with the idea.

* * * * *

I was reading my retreat palancas last night, and to echo PamS‘ tagboard shout-out the other day, I can also say “na ngayon lang nag sink-in na paalis na talaga ako“!!! I really am gonna miss my beloved friends here. But don’t worry, I’ll try to be back on March [if I don't get to enroll on their 2nd sem] or in June [if I do]. I’ve never been out of the country, so at the same time, I’m also quite thrilled at the idea of travel. I’ve always wanted to travel, and now, I guess I have to admit that I’m craving for new scenery and an end to the routine cycle of my current lifestyle. I want a bit of change and spontaneity. I’m not saying that I hate my life here; in fact I love it to bits. The thing is, the idea of something new excites me too. Change is not always unpleasant; there are some things in life, some changes that you wish to reject, but have grown to look forward to, even love. I am not saying that I expect that the best is already waiting for me there; my point is, the suspense is thrilling and that sweet, romantic thrill of the Unknown is also very exciting. I am sure this whole thing won’t be totally easy, though. The thing is, I’m glad I was able to see things in a better, more positive light–it makes parting with you guys much easier to bear. Let’s also not forget the idea that we’ll see each other again in a few month’s time anyway–for me, that is a very comforting thought.