Leaving Neverland:

By Stephanie Trembath,
‘Life and Style Editor

y decision to move out came as a
large surprise to my friends and
family, but it mostly I surprised

myself; in a rash and emotional moment I
rushed to craigslist, responded to an ad, and
had driven over to an apartment in Burnaby
where I suddenly found myself nodding and
agreeing to the terms of renting. Two days
later I am still bewildered, yet happy, and

am scrambling to organize my finances, and
current room into boxes. Yes, | am growing
up— leaving Neverland— and it’s not going to
be pretty; literally.

Clothes: they are my passion, shoes: my
love, and purses: my bad habit. I absolutely
adore spending money on different pieces and
accessorize, and in my twenty-two years I have
accumulated tons of clothes that are ridiculous,

expensive, and totally useless for my current
lifestyle.

I bought a pair of amazing stiletto heels
when I was seventeen, a svelte dress from
a boutique in Vancouver, and a purse from
Burberry, all of which I have never worn or
used. At the time of the purchases I needed
these items, and told myself there were good
investments, which is silly because someone
who is smart invests in real estate, not a purse
that’s too small to hold a cell phone.

I have since stopped buying articles of
clothing I cannot use, and instead moved on to
buying ridiculously overpriced clothes that I
‘needed’; which is a term I use loosely. In the
summer, I discovered I needed glasses, so I
went out and bought a pair of Tiffany*s glasses
for $600. Last fall I needed a pair of winter
boots, so I bought myself a pair of Browns
leather boots for $350.

I clapped myself on the back for
purchasing things I could use on a daily basis,

IfFE ana SCYIE

and yet now I am realizing how utterly insane
my spending is. I do not consider myself
spoiled; I work hard and have a good job

that takes care of school, my car, and my cell
phone bills, but as I pack my bags and reflect
on each article of clothing I own I am pretty
sure I could have put a down payment on my
own place by now.

Just last weekend I spent a staggering
$800 on a new winter jacket and pair of pants,
this is money I do not have as I put it on my
MasterCard. My reasoning: I need a winter
jacket, and the pants were a splurge because I
have wanted them for four months. Thankfully
I can return the pants, although I loathe the
very thought, but because this one pair of pants
is a whole month’s rent it would be silly not to.

I learned a tough lesson with spending
last year when I lived in London. I spent all
my money in Top Shop and spent the last week
eating peanut butter on whole wheat bread,
and, thankfully, glasses of nice red wine. Not

something you want to do, especially since
I have worn the electric blue purse I bought
exactly three times.

Oh, leaving Neverland is going to be
hard; where I have enjoyed the comfort of free
rent and home-cooked meals. I have already
started thinking about how I am going to
have to stop eating out and buying expensive
coffees so frivolously, and have accepted the
fact that being a student inevitably means
being in debt. How I am going to make the
rest of my student life without splurging on
new outfits, I don’t know. However, I do know
that by taking my first step into my own place
is the smartest choice at this point, and 1 am
anxious to leave my expensively superficial
self behind.

My first step in my new place is going
to be searching out all the shoppes near my
new place! Just because I don’t have an excess
amount of money doesn’t mean I need to
abandon fashion.

 

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