LIVING SIMPLY
The younger generation’s take on a minimalist lifestyle amidst an increasingly materialistic world
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ophomore Bennett Hardy does not believe in following a set of rules about how to live, but rather tries to simplify life in order to live more intentionally. He believes that minimalism is about being able to focus on your life, not on material things. “Our lives are just so short. Why do we always focus so much on the little things? Why don’t we just focus on our lives?” Hardy said. Hardy, like all minimalist, has his own unique way of adopting the lifestyle, which fulfills his personal goals of living more intentionally. Everybody has different reasons for adopting the minimalist lifestyle and different ways of executing it, but Hardy feels that many people miscategorize minimalism as a suffocating, rigid lifestyle. “[People] think you’re just getting rid of everything and that there’s nothing in your room or you can’t have certain things,” Hardy said. “That’s not what [minimalism] is about, it’s just simplifying your life.” Diana Lim, a teen who actively shares her minimalist lifestyle on her blog (minimalistteen.com), defines the movement as a way to live “a happier, healthier and more deliberate life.” Upon entering high school, Lim realized that she was caught up in an unhealthy cycle of shopping and comparing herself to other people. “I was not con-
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tent with what I had, even after I would buy things,” Lim said. “I just always wanted more.” After discovering minimalism, Lim started placing less value in keeping up with the trends and instead focused on herself. “I realized that the source of my joy was not in my things,” Lim said. “[With minimalism] I could focus on the things in my life that I care about more than just physical items.” The first step Lim took after realizing the benefits of a minimalistic lifestyle was purging 90% of her possessions. She had a “packing party” where she put everything she owned into boxes and packed it Bennett Hardy up. Over the course of a week, she only unpacked the items she needed to use, and then donated the untouched items at the end of the week. After taking the first step to get rid of unnecessary items, Lim felt more free from the negative consumerist culture many are influenced by. However, that is not to say she shies away from buying any products or clothes; instead she more seriously considers the long-term sustainability. “My principle is that I want clothing that is more timeless and will remain stylish
“Our lives are just so short. Why do we always focus so much on the little things?”
