So how do you feel when the pay cheque slides silently into your account?
For me the pull of the shop de charity and junk markets calls. It's almost like an illness sometimes, that desire to find an item that will get me excited. To yell 'look what I found' at Ben as soon as I see him and knowing that he will not look at me in wonder and think 'more junk to clutter our flat'.
I'm sitting in my class in my non-contact period - knowing that I should be marking or tidying up - but really a long bank-holiday weekend stretches out in front of me and I know that concentrating is near-on impossible right this minute. I've just done a quick Photoshop job for an Australian PE teacher's card who's leaving today and all that's left for me to do is wait for my Year 10s to come and break my peace.
Earlier when we were creating a giant Iron Man in my English lesson with Year 7s one of the girls asked me where I buy my clothes and my jewellery. I'm kind of 'known' for the fact that I tend to only wear red, black, white and grey (always a splash of red in there though) or for the fact that as some of them like to point out; I look like a goth. I don't - it's just their understanding of sub-cultures in Tottenham is very limited ;) When I told her that the whole outfit I have on today - except my watch - are from charity shops or junk-markets I expected the usual 'urgh' response. Instead she said 'I think it's great that you do that'. I find that young people are often repulsed at the fact that I shop second-hand - and it does come up often when they ask about my clothes. However the worst response I've ever had was from a fellow teacher. I worked for a short while in a department of all women bar one. They were very cliquey and very very very girly. One day the 2iC commented that she loved my style. I thanked her and told her that it was all second-hand. Her response? "You're proud of that are you?". To say my flabber was gasted is an understatement.
It's strange how some people see the realm of the second-hand as a negative thing. In this age of mass-consumerism, in a world where approximately 25,000 people die every day from hunger and hunger-related illnesses, that someone should see it as a negative thing that I like to reuse the world's resources rather than add to the sea of rubbish that already exists is beyond me.
On another note a bus ride into work this morning, through Stoke Newington, revealed a car-boot sale to me that's happening on Saturday. I might have to pop up here and have a look :)
Right - time to get ready for the year 10s - wheeeeeeeeeee.
Charity shopping has certainly become fashionable of late which is really refreshing as when i was at school if anyone said their clothes were from the cs then they were then up for being bullied! Its funny though as I know some people will go charity shopping but wouldnt be seen dead at a car boot sale! Great post :o) Scarlett x
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