This year, I have had the chance to learn a new skill of sewing. I knew fashion design was going to be a fun class for me, because I like to think of myself as a creative person, and I was right. I have had so much fun and have learned how to create new things.

At the end of finishing a project, there is a rubric to fill out which includes reflective questions. One of the questions that stands out to me is, “Are you satisfied with the amount of time and money spent in relation to the final product?”

This question is the most thought-provoking for me because it makes me think about the time it took to sew each piece together and the final product. Most of the time I am satisfied, but then I think about if everyone had to hand-make every piece of clothing they own, like people used to have to do. To me, that would be insane, but that is the way it once was.

I am also taking Economics this semester, which goes hand-in-hand with this thought. The first chapter opens up with, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” Somebody, somewhere, put time and effort into making whatever you are eating, and just because someone else is paying for it doesn’t necessarily make it free.

When thinking about things this way, a lot of things in life apply. Well, technically everything. Living on a farm has also given me a broader outlook on this topic as well. I don’t think people realize everything that goes into preparing a field, planting, growing and harvesting just to produce the tomato on your sandwich. But, let’s not forget about the workers, chefs and servers that also put in work for you to enjoy lunch.

We don’t realize how many people and resources it takes to make the one thing we are purchasing and enjoying. Instead, we are probably thinking it isn’t exactly right with what we purchased.

Whether it is a shirt, decorations or even a sandwich, so many things happened to make that one thing possible. I feel like we consumers can and should be a little more appreciative for the things made so easily available to us.  Someone in the big world of ours put in time and effort to make our lives easier, which is something we can all be thankful for.

When we become more mindful about things like that, we become more grateful, which in turn makes us better people. I don’t think anybody can argue with that.