The Importance of Having Quality Items
Carpe Diem.
Live every day like it’s your last.
These sentiments can inspire, but are often dismissed due to how outlandish they seem to imply we should live.
I mean, we can’t live every day like it’s our last. We can’t go skydiving and miss work every day. Well, we can, but our landlords wouldn’t be very happy, and it might be hard to afford groceries unless you’re outrageously rich.
We aren’t meant to take them literally, but these mottos generally are dismissed.
A better version of these sayings, which one should take into their everyday life, comes to us from author Joan Didion in an interview in the New York Times.
“Every day is all there is.”
Didion said this is her justification for using nice silverware every day.
I first heard of this quote in a video with the same title by the YouTuber, “flowlotl.”
Ever since then, I have tried to incorporate this quote into my daily life.
“Every day is all there is.”
Waiting to wear that outfit on the right day or refraining from decorating while in college doesn’t do you any good.
Delayed gratification can be helpful, keeping you from being stuck online, looking for the next dopamine hit, but keeping yourself from having nice objects or using things you enjoy is useless.
The perfect occasion might come, but wearing that outfit before doesn’t ruin it. Flimsy, ugly plastic cups and plates will only deteriorate over time. This isn’t to say you have to have fine china, but nice plates can be found for cheap at the thrift store or even at Walmart. If you can, spending a bit more up front can save you in the long run.
Or you can support local artists by buying ceramic cups at a bazaar or farmers’ market.
This will result in longer-lasting items and make you feel better about living in your own home.
Run-down Laramie apartments may not feel like your home, just a place to sleep while you make it through college, but bringing in high-quality and aesthetically pleasing items can turn your apartment into a place you actually enjoy being.
It may feel like a waste, you’re likely moving after you graduate, but that doesn’t mean this part of your life needs to lack value. Yes, you don’t want to buy giant and nice furniture, even if you can find it cheap, as it will be hard to move and may not fit in the next place you live. However, adding nice details in the small things, framing your posters, and having nicer silverware and cutlery can bring comfort into your place and will move with you.
Nicer things can make you feel like an actual adult, an actual person. Creating value in the place you live is a way to lighten your mood and keep this phase in your life from feeling liminal and depressing.
Don’t wait for this dream future where you can finally fill your life with nice things. We don’t know what the future will look like and working for the unknown is obsolete and make your present feel worse.
Live for today. Fill your life with joy and act in ways that fill your life with value now for “every day is all there is.”
