Final Thoughts
I experienced my first Black Friday in a large mall when I was eleven, and since then, have made a point of remaining at home on the day after Thanksgiving. Today was a very welcome change from that tradition, for many reasons.
Today I was a spectator to the best and worst in consumer behavior. I watched a little girl hug her new doll with absolute joy as her weary mother, who has traveled many miles to accomplish this purchase, looked on. I watched a teenager loudly berate her mother for not getting into a store fast enough to buy her a flat-screen television. I saw complete strangers offer each other neighborly advice on the best brands to buy and where to get the best deals on them. I saw people stand outside in freezing darkness and nearly trample each other in order to save some money on gifts.
The Holidays bring out the best and worst in us. We want to give wonderful presents to the people we love, but the gift-giving often becomes more competitive than benevolent, negating the entire purpose of exchanging presents. We place a monetary value on our love for those close to us, when we should simply be grateful that they are there. It is fascinating, then, to be in the middle of the biggest day of holiday shopping, and to be able to see the dichotomies of attitudes in the consumers: “I’ll buy an expensive computer to prove my love for my daughter,” a father thinks, and even pats himself on the back for being in the store when the doors open at the crack of dawn. In reality, no matter how much he tries to convince himself otherwise, he’s most likely there at the crack of dawn because that is when the prices are lowest. Were he really putting his daughter before his wallet, he would be spending those early hours with her rather than in the store.
Before I departed Princeton for New York, I learned that one of my closest friends had died during the night, around the time that I was getting up to go to Wal-Mart. No gift that anyone purchased for him today will matter now. What does matter was the time that he shared with the people who loved him. That, ultimately, was the way he knew he was in our hearts. And so, dear reader, as I sign off on this exhausting day, let me wish you the most wonderful of Holiday seasons, and to give you this humble suggestion: Cut some time from your shopping schedule to just be with the people you love. In the long run, that time will matter much more than any other gift you can give.