Gallivanting in Goodwill: New Beginnings

Hello World!

First of all, this is not normally my kind of thing. I study psychology and social work with an emphasis in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), so that is what I spend 97% of my time doing (the other 3% are reserved for getting to class, sleeping, eating, sorority involvement, and thrift shopping). The reason why I wanted to start this blog is so people can see how amazing Goodwill is.

When I was in 8^th grade, my mom bought me a jacket that I immediately loved. I proudly wore it to school the next day. Other students liked it to, so, you know, I felt super cool (as cool as an awkward adolescent can feel). All day I got tons of compliments. Then, a girl asked me where I got it. I explained to her that my mom bought it at Goodwill. To this, she responded, “Oh. Ew. Gross.” This shattered my poor little heart.

However, that did not stop me.

I was confused by her response because what is there to not support about Goodwill? The organization has an awesome mission statement: “Goodwill works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.” They focus on providing a chance, not charity. They offer job skills and training to help people out, which I am sure I will talk about more in the future because of my love of social work. Until then, I recommend that you check out their website: http://www.goodwill.org/

Now, back to my story. I only saw good things from Goodwill and I wanted to continue supporting the organization. So, with the girl’s comment behind me, I began shopping there more. What I tend to find now is that some people still have an “Ew factor” towards the clothes (wash it; you borrow your friends’ clothes all the time. It is not that different), others just do not believe Goodwill has quality items, and still others only think thrift shopping is cool because of the song “Thrift Shop.” I am here to show you that Goodwill has nice, good quality clothes that can be mixed with other items to create cute outfits and that thrift shopping is even more fun than the song makes it out to be. Here is to new beginnings for the people Goodwill helps, the clothes they sell, and my blog! ;)