Material Culture: Everyday Life

    While shopping, I never paid much attention to what I was actually doing. In my mind, I walk into a store, buy what I need, pay for it and leave. I never stopped to think of it more, but after thinking it over, Laura Oswald’s “Consumers shop for meaning, not stuff.” quote does make a lot more sense now. I see now how some of the items I buy really do reflect my sense of self. 

    Since I am a smoker, a necessity for me is of course cigarettes, but not just any type can meet my needs. The first thing I considered when buying them is the price, I am surely not gonna waste more money on a pack of cigarettes just because of the brand. However, the cheapest ones are not an option since they do not meet the amount of nicotine I need. Now that a lot of brands are off the table, I am still left with a variety of different ones. How I chose this particular brand is something I haven't thought about until now, I smoke Golden Bird cigarettes exclusively because of the packaging. There are other brands that have beautiful designs that catch my eye, but this specific one has a remarkable bird surrounded by rainbow colors and this was something I could not look at and not buy.

The second thing I absolutely cannot live without is coffee, 3in1 to be precise. The mere fact that I cannot drink Turkish coffee shows what kind of person I am (I am already hyperactive, trust me that I don't need the extra amount that Turkish coffee provides). What is interesting to me is the fact that even though I could basically drink any 3in1 coffee, I choose not to if not necessary. It has to be the brand Mokate since it is the only one that has just the perfect amount of sugar for me, but is also not very hard to mix in with water (other brands require boiling hot water, which I don't like since I like to drink my coffee right away without waiting for it to cool down). 

Lastly, fruit yogurt is definitely the one that shows how I shop for meaning and not stuff. Since I was little I refused to drink milk (whether it be with cocoa powder or anything else) and that has stayed the same to this very day. My grandma found a solution by feeding me store bought fruit yogurt any chance she got. I don't necessarily crave fruit yogurt now that I'm older, but every time I see the Dukat fruit yogurt my soul feels warm. I become flooded with memories of my grandma feeding it to me and I instantly want to buy it, not to mention the divine flavor of forest fruits in it. 

    All of the items we buy on a daily basis have a whole marketing scheme behind them and we all subconsciously contribute to consumerism, but to be quite honest I don't think anyone thinks this in depth while shopping and I am not sure if a lot of people will from this point on.