Translated…
After I’d read the article, “The Scandalous Name-Brand Pencil Case”, I’m very impressed at how the writer dealt with the matter. My first year high school daughter also read the article, she’d said, “I’m all for practicality and not for the name-brands, I’d much use the money I saved to get the books, my painting materials, or some other things I liked.”
When my daughter was in the fifth grade, she’d once asked me, “Mom, am I wearing name-brand shoes? Some of the classmates said that they have name-brand shoes, one of them even said, that his father drove a Mercedes, that they lived in a mansion, and he’d laughed on how the other kids who walked home are dirt poor.”
I smiled and told her, “Although your shoes aren’t name-brand, but you’d loved the style, you can walk home on your own that means you’re independent enough, and being able to walk home with friends you liked, isn’t that amazing too?”, my daughter started smiling, “Yeah, I loved the mermaid picture on my sneakers, and, coming home with my classmates, we can share conversations, or go to the shops to stroll, I have a good time!”
I knew, that “going from nickeling and diming to spending listlessly is easy but returning back to nickeling and diming from spending carelessly is difficult”, we’d lived our lives according to how much money we have. I’m really glad, that my daughter didn’t get affected, and wanted the name brands under the influences of her classmates, and understood that her confidence isn’t from the items she owned. Like in “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, the young witch was about to embark on a journey, and complained of how her dress wasn’t pretty enough, her mother told her, “what’s more important is the spiritual growth!”
I’d shared with my daughter a line from De Botton, “If expensive things can’t make us unusually happy, then, why are we attracted to them? Because those expensive things can mislead people into believing that our needs are satisfied, and these materials would imitate what we’re searching for spiritually.” I hope, that she can, understand the meanings of De Botton’s words.
At which time, my elementary school aged son came in, the moment he got in, he’d asked, “Mom, what brand are my shoes? The kids in my class said that they have name brand shoes.” My daughter and I said, in synchrony, “No again!”, and so, I’d asked my daughter, to share with her younger brother, her own experiences, hoped, to make her younger brother understand this intrigue in name brand, the myth of having name brands.
And so, this, is a great way, to educate your young, because there would always be those at school who love showing off their name-brand items, because they got rich daddies and mommies, and, that is how they make themselves feel better than the rest, and, this mother did a good job, in teaching her daughter what is more important in life, NOT the person wearing the clothes, the shoes, the watches, but the person her/himself.