an exchange student ponders the meaning of possessions
yang yu chieh, contributor
The world we share is full of all sorts of materials. While these materials have multiple purposes and meanings, in an age of mass production and overconsumption, more and more people have started to view things solely for their face values: appearance, fame, and wealth. When this happens, the intrinsic value of things gradually fades out of people’s minds.
When I was in high school, I participated in a three-week exchange program in Canada. At that time, I lived with a host family. That was the first time I saw snow, and the grandmother in the host family bought me a pair of boots for me to wear in the snow. I was very grateful for her kindness.
Now, I’m back again in Canada as an exchange student, only this time I’m staying for four months. I brought the same pair of shoes with me, but in October they were cracked on one side. I didn’t want to just throw them away as if it meant nothing more to me than a pair of winter shoes, so I tried to find a store in Regina that could repair shoes.
On my way to one such store, Clark’s Luggage and Shoe Repair, memories of my three-week high school life in Canada rushed back to me. I felt sentimental about how fast time flies, and how an inanimate object can carry memories from five years ago and still accompany me five years later in Canada. I was also happy and thankful that I got to prolong the life of this pair of shoes, and not just abandon them and the memories that were associated with them.
When I got to the store, I found the owners very modest and down to earth. They seemed like the sort of people who are willing to help and do things for the neighborhood, even if it involves hardship and effort. The kind of repairing business they have is becoming far less common, probably because people would rather buy new things than repair what they have. Moreover, purchasing something new is often even cheaper than the cost of repair, yet another reason why fewer and fewer people are willing to spend on repairing things. Because of these reasons, the art of repair is being lost in this generation.
This makes me think about what value that materials themselves hold. For me, shoes are not only footwear that keep me warm and safe in the cold weather, but also a symbol of the love from the family who hosted me when I was in Canada, and uphold the invaluable memories that make me who I am right now.
I feel sad about how the fast fashion industry nowadays dominates the world, creating a sense of lack in people’s hearts. People think they need more to be happy. They crave the instant dopamine boost they get from purchasing new items, which gives them short-term happiness but leaves a deep void afterward. They then try to fill the void by consuming more – all in vain.
When I question the intrinsic value of things, I rebuild my relationship with the things I already have in my life. Humans are meaning-seeking creatures. When we assign meanings to things, what returns to us is a sense of purpose and of contentment. When we incorporate a less is more mindset, we in turn feel more abundant, for everything in our life serves a meaning for us, and we are surrounded by meaningful things instead of soulless materialism.
I am genuinely grateful to this shoe-repairing day for helping me reevaluate my relationship with the things I have in my life. And for giving me the chance to know about and connect with the neighborhood on a different level, all of which makes feel the warmth of the community in Regina as an exchange student from Taiwan.
