Same-day shipping, fleeting trends and recommendations based on an algorithm that tracks your every move have turned shopping into a full-time job. A lot of us believe that money doesn’t buy happiness. But when that belief is disproven, most of us forget that the cost of our joy usually comes at the expense of someone or something else.
At this very moment, much of America’s waste is currently sitting in landfills or being exported to other countries. And what a lot of this nation doesn’t realize is that, especially during the holiday season, the influx of waste produced increases by about 25 percent. That accounts for nearly a million extra tons every week in the timeframe between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
These days, however, being environmentally conscious is becoming the new norm, especially among the younger generations. Generally speaking, a large percentage of teenagers would more or less agree that climate change and pollution are major problems that need to be addressed.
But despite all of that, every year, millions of us anxiously gather around our plastic-clad Christmas trees to see what dreams from our wishlists will come true. It’s almost as if we forget that the new shoes we’ve been eyeing, or the video games we’ve been dying to play, don’t actually come from Santa’s ethical little workshop. So why is it that our morals on unnecessary overconsumption take a leave of absence during the most wonderful time of the year?
The truth is, everyone has different methods of communicating their appreciation and caring for their loved ones. While to some, the tradition of giving and receiving gifts might seem like nothing more than a monetary trans- action, to others, the practice spans a lot deeper than that.
Students at TuHS had some pretty interesting insight from both ends of the love-language spectrum.
“The holidays for me feel most special when I can be fully present and share the moment with the people I love the most,” explained junior Theodore Alvarado. “Those moments mean far more to me than any gift ever could.”
On the other hand, another junior, Evan Pope, had this counter to Alvarado’s claim.
“Gifts are a great way of showing appreciation to those you care about.”
In finishing up this consensus, I reached out to someone who offered a compromise. Vice President of the Climate Change Club at TuHS, Piper Thayne, shared her take.
“I think that including more sustainable practices, like using reusable material to wrap gifts or buying gifts that will last and that people will use, are a few examples of small things we should adopt as a society. If we change our mindset from a more materialistic approach to a more balanced approach with environmental awareness, we can create a culture that prioritizes long-term health and prosperity over short-term consumption.”
Overall, even within the confines of our own school, we see how the traditions people partake in during the holidays are more than just a standard practice; they’re customs that have been carefully curated and refined over generations. And while everyone has their own preferred method of sharing their tenderness, it really makes you wonder: is that any just cause for the amount of festive spending and scrapping we do?
