Reasons to Become Minimalist (from ADL 8th Graders)
This morning, I had the opportunity to speak to the 8th grade class at ADL Middle School as part of their "Saving Planet Earth as Kids Unite Proactively" Day Celebration (SPEAK UP). I was excited to see the organizers recognize the minimalist lifestyle as an important piece of the conversation.
At the end of the seminar, I asked each 8th grader to write a mini-blogpost consisting of 2-3 sentences that attempts to convince/inspire others to live with less.
I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the highlights:
"Dear _____, You should own less things because you will have more free time. Instead of paying bills, you can spend time with your family." – Tayler S.
"Dear _____, If you had less stuff you wouldn't have to clean so much and stress would be down. The basement and garage would be clean too. Also, your closets and downstairs/basement would be clean." – Alex W.
"Dear _____, Have you ever wished that you could take a break from the stress of daily life? Maybe you were cleaning out the closet or paying off the credit card debt? Maybe you were sitting in traffic on your way home from a job that you don't really like. But there's a way to avoid the clutter and unfulfilled feeling of this lifestyle: become a minimalist. Studies have shown that people who own less stuff are happier than those who own more, and it's great for the environment. Think about it really? What do you want most from life?" – Evelyn B.
"Dear _____, Please let us have a good planet." – Hannah G.
"Dear _____, You should live with less stuff because you'll have more money, you can go on more vacations. Also, you have more free time to do what you want. There is less stress because you have less things to pay for." – Brad M.
"Dear _____, You should consider living with less stuff because the planet is slowly slipping away into basically a garbage can, and I am not looking forward to living in a garbage can when I'm older. So maybe becoming a minimalist can help with that. You will be happy, I will be happy, everyone will be happy." – Laura C.
Dear ____, Even though it may seem like being happpy is having more stuff. But really it's not. Think about it. Wouldn't you rather feel really amazing knowing that you're doing all you can to save your money and the planet too?" – Ashley C.
"Dear _____, You should buy less stuff because everything you buy seems to have payments on it." – Jake G.
"Dear _____, Does your work suck? Would you rather be playing with your kids or grandkids? How 'bout this? Try every weekend getting rid of 10-20 things or maybe more. It's called minimalism. Living with less means more money and time. So you can quit that job that you hate and maybe add more hours to your day." – Giselle G.
"Dear _____, You have heard that you need the newest things and the best things. But it's not always the best. For example, you could live on only the stuff you need. You could be happy, spend more time with your family, and not spend as much money." – Chad H.
"Dear _____, If you owned less stuff, you wouldn't need as much money so your expectations would be lower and smaller things would make you happier. Also, my dad is pretty much always stressed so if he worked less, thus made less money but still had enough, he would be more relaxed. Also, my mom is always cleaning and our house is pretty messy, so if we had less stuff, she would be free to do other things. You would also have more time to travel and by buying less, you would have more money. Having less could also help you sympathize with people in poverty and desitiution, so maybe you would be compelled to help them." – Name withheld
It looks to me like the idea of minimalism is starting to make sense to them, don't you think? And on a related note, I am apparently available for school assemblies.
