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I Want To Save The Earth. But I Also Want to Buy Cute Things
The internal struggle between choosing to consume less or indulging myself
I am a self-proclaimed environmentalist. I write articles that disparage the pollutive behavior of some of the biggest companies in the world (like Amazon and Shein). I spent lots of time separating my trash to reuse things that were still usable and recycle things that were not. After writing about how damaging beef farming is to the environment, I stopped eating beef.
However, living in a consumerist society means that there is always an ongoing battle within my inner self. Modern society makes it impossible to avoid the dazzle and draw of indulging ourselves.
No matter how I try to avoid it, I see well-made videos on social media showing off aesthetic desk setups. In shopping malls, trendy clothes are on display everywhere. In the TV shows and movies I watch, eye-catching things are continually advertised to me. So many advertisements are made so well that I find myself wanting those items, too. And no matter how much I want to tell myself that I am fully committed to making every action count (in terms of saving the world), I still find myself wanting to treat myself to the latest and shiniest cute item that has caught my eye.
