I watched this documentary before school started. I was intrigued because last semester I found myself frustrated and a little bit discouraged. My parents have decided to turn my bedroom at home into a guest bedroom so they asked me if I could declutter my room and throw everything out that I didn’t need anymore. This simple task made me realize how much stuff I had that I did not need. There were art projects from first grade that I didn’t need but it didn’t feel right to throw them away either. Over the years, I had collected so many random items such as an old-school Cola bottle that had never been opened. While I was throwing stuff away, I wondered how I could’ve let it get to that point. It is just so easy to put stuff in a drawer and never think about it again. I then began to walk around my house and look through drawers that hadn’t been opened in years and was just amazed at all the useless objects that I found.

After that experience at home, when I saw a documentary titled “Minimalism” I was very curious. The film consisted of hearing people’s stories of how they came to embrace a minimalistic lifestyle. There were entrepreneurs who realized that climbing the corporate ladder was not going to make them happier or a man who realized going to buy stuff for a new home would not cause his wife to come back to him. These people found peace in the opposite of what the big advertising agencies want us to believe. They found happiness by owning less objects, by only owning objects that added value in their lives.

After watching the documentary, I was inspired. I wanted nothing more than to tell everyone of it and I did. I told my mom all about it and she sent me a message the next day that said, “You inspired me. I am cleaning out my closet right now and giving away a bunch of my clothes to the shelter.” That made me happier than ever. I believe that once you declutter and get down to the basics of what you actually need, it is easier to focus on the things that are actually important. Keeping up with the latest fashion trends won’t be as important (although being a girl I know this will be hard) and it will be easier to focus on building relationships and making smart decisions for the environment. I feel like you take more notice when you are being wasteful and greedy. It makes you realize what you believe is actually important, not what ads or other people want you to believe should be important. It is a slow process to living a full on minimalistic lifestyle but taking steps to start is the most crucial step.