What Would You Give? By Lavinia Plonka
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ometimes we only focus on one definition without realizing a word’s myriad applications in our daily speech. In recent years, we’ve been conditioned to think “give” means material goods: giving gifts, money, stuff. But we use the word and idea of give in countless ways without ever noticing our boundless generosity. I give up! I gave her so many chances,
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thesofiamagazine.com | November 2020
I’m just not giving in this time. I give her another month on this job before she gives me an ulcer. I give you my word, it will give me great pleasure to see what gives when the boss sees how she gives new meaning to the word useless.
In an economy based on consumerism, suddenly products like tooth whitener for teeth no one will see, designer jeans you can’t flaunt, floating picnic tables with no guests and fruit shaped silicone coasters (whatever!), have become irrelevant. Some of us are actually getting rid of stuff, literally giving it away. As we purge, we may realize we also no longer need that potato ricer, the tennis racquet we haven’t touched in ten years, or the gold lamé jacket from
