Some Answers to Some Questions

Why are you doing this?
Well, for a lot of reasons that I’ll probably get deeper into as I continue writing this blog. The main one, I guess, is that by focusing less on the materialistic, I hope to live a simpler, more fulfilling life.


When did you first decide to do this?
I read this short interview with David Bruno and thought it was kind of a cool concept that I might want to look into later, so I cut it out of the newspaper, left it on my messy desk, and proceeded to completely forget about it. A week or so later, I was zoning out in the middle of my room (this is your brain on sleep deprivation) when I realized how much of my stuff was just lying around, taking up space. Then, I noticed that, resting on top of one of the numerous piles of randomly assorted items covering what had once served as my desk, was the now yellowing interview. I cocked an eyebrow and thought for a moment. Maybe this guy was on to something.


When are you going to start?
I hope to have reduced my total number of possessions to x (where {x | x ≤ 100}) by the first of February. The list that I’ve posted is of what I plan on keeping. As of now, I still have a bunch of stuff I have yet to donate to charity or give to a friend. However, thanks to the numerous clothe, school supply, and toy drives that popped up around my school this past holiday season, I’ve been able to easily whittle down my number of things. Letting go of so much stuff felt great.


How hard was it to give away so much stuff?
It actually wasn’t very hard at all. I did get kind of scared when I realized that going through with this meant dramatically reducing the number of t-shirts I owned (compliments about how funny some of them were were not uncommon). Then I remembered that other people needed them much more than I did and realized how petty and idiotic I was being. Ew.


Were there any other sources of inspiration besides that short interview?
I felt pretty terrible after watching Meeting for Worship fall apart this one day in November. I left and headed into the school's the main building. I didn't really know what a teacher would do if he or she were to see me and didn't particularly care, so I ended up sitting on the field in the rain for a while. My jacket was suprisingly more weatherproof than I'd thought and my friends and peers were great, but I ended up skipping the rest of my classes anyway. I was in the library at one point and stared at one of the book cases until I decided to pick up one of the several copies of A Quaker Book of Wisdom. It was really interesting.