Private schools, public aisles: embracing my love for thrifting while finding individuality

Ben Litofsky

     Most things about my life are not unique; I eat common food, follow trends, and listen to popular artists like Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, the creator. I like things the way most of the people my age like. However, my clothing choices are an exception to my rather basic lifestyle, at least that’s what I used to think. My T-shirts, worn daily, come from a near and dear place to my heart, the thrift store. The shirts found in my closet tell a story of not only my childhood but also the rise in popularity of what used to be my unique trait. At the age of 4, my parents got divorced, and my sister and I moved out of our parent’s big house in Sugar Land and started to split our time between our two parent’s houses in Meyerland. A year or so later, around the age of 5 or 6, I remember my first trips to the “thrift store.” My Dad may have taken me or my sister when we were younger, but it wasn’t until our parents had been divorced for a couple of years that I remember going to thrift stores. My Dad introduced me to this magical land of previously owned clothes that were sold at a tenth of what you would find it for at retail. I slowly started to fill up my closet with T-shirts, grow too big, donate them to back, and buy more. I soon learned a lesson that still makes me want to go to the thrift store to this day, however, it came with a lot of perseverance and learning to love who I am and the culture that I come from.

     I went to private school growing up, in fact, all my life I went to private school.Going to private school all my life, I learned from others that just because you can afford to go to private school, doesn’t mean you have as much money as everyone else. Going to thrift stores made this very apparent to me. I remember someone asking, “Hey Ben, what did you do this weekend?” and I replied, “I went to the thrift store and found this cool T-shirt with my dad.” I remember the look of disdain when the word thrift store came out of my mouth. This is when I realized that not a lot of people like the ones I’m around shop at thrift stores, and at the time I wanted to fit in, so I stepped back from the thrift store for a while. I remember thinking to myself, I go to a private school, why do I need to wear clothes from a thrift store?

     After talking with my Dad I realized how spoiled I was acting. He explained to me that he takes me to the thrift stores not because we couldn’t afford new clothes but to learn the lesson of a dollar, and how much more you can get when you preserve and look in the right places. He also pointed out that just

because a lot of our clothes come from thrift stores doesn’t mean that’s not where we do all our clothes shopping. I decided to return to the aisles of the thrift stores once again. I couldn’t believe how stupid I ever was to walk away from something I loved so much, but right as I stepped back in I was forced to stop again. The pandemic had struck the world and it wasn’t safe to go out of the house for anything but necessities. The feeling of re-experiencing enjoyment had come to an abrupt fault right as I was about ready to spread my wings and fly again. I was no longer able to do that thing that felt so unique to Me, my Dad, and my sister.

      Fortunately, lockdowns ended, and we were able to head back to thrift stores, unfortunately, that feeling of uniqueness never came back.

     With the widespread popularity of TikTok and other video-sharing platforms during 2020, thrifting has become a massive trend. Before, upscale thrifting was the kind of thrifting people were talking about. Going to vintage stores and upscale resale shops were the only kind of thrift shops that were popular outside of Macklemore’s hit song. However during the pandemic, the rise of local “crappy” thrift stores was all the craze, but this didn’t stop me from going to thrift stores.

      I continued to go in the following years, and it was sad to see something so unique to me become mainstream. Initially, I was frustrated over the entire situation. However, I was being extremely selfish and should have thought of it differently. At first, I wasn’t focused on other kids experiencing the same joy that I did, but I selfishly thought of only myself and the potential lack of clothes that I would find. Over the past 3 or so years though I’ve come to realize that I was acting self-centered and I came up with a new way to look at the situation, I am glad that thrifting became mainstream so other kids can feel that same feeling I once did when walking into a thrift store, and the feeling of finding there favorite T-Shirt and not worrying that someone wore it before them. I am aware that I was not the first person to go thrifting, but I’m also aware I’m not the last. Thrift stores have shaped my life and without them, I wouldn’t have as close a bond with my Dad as I do now, I wouldn’t have the same eye for a deal that I have today, and most importantly I wouldn’t have the hundreds of shirts to make me my truly unique self.

       Overall I think it is important to shed light on the things that are important to you even if you think you won’t be unique. Although you might not want to share that secret recipe or that family tradition, just think about the joy it brings you and how much joy it will bring others, spreading that happiness makes you unique because only you can make others feel that same unique way.