<p>Down with materialism.</p>
<p>Down with being part of the "in" crowd.</p>
<p>I'm a T-shirt(mostly free from hockey companies I'm affiliated with...) and jeans or sweatsuit(see: T-shirts.) kind of guy. I don't pop my collar. I don't buy $80 jeans premade to be ripped and faded. I don't spike my hair.</p>
<p>People like me are going extinct I tell you.</p>
<p>I admit that when I was a little girl (ie. 6th and 7th grade), I wanted to drown in conformity, to fit in with those prim little cheerleaders. I wanted people to compliment me on what I wore, and I thought that for that to happen, I'd have to wear A&F, American Eagle, and Tommy Hillfiger. So I did. Walking into the forest of A&F, I was delighted by the sight of suggestive-slogan-tees (though I had no idea what the slogans meant), the teasing, youthful thongs tangled in a pile. Oh, it was bliss. And stupidly grabbing three shirts, I went to the cash register, forced to cough up seventy-five bucks. All of this for acceptance. And now, I look back on this in shame.</p>
<p>So now that I have gained some intelligence, as well as a thorough knowledge of my limited budget, I now opt for Ross and TJ Max. Surprisingly, some snobs stop to ask me if I got my shirt or jeans from Abercrombie. Amazing, how the looks of cheap, thrifty clothing can be so deceiving. </p>
<p>Seriously, brand names now disgust me.</p>