Maya Seligman
Swarthmore College
English 95: Fictions of Consumption
Prof. Lisa Cohen
March 25, 1997

Shopping can be a theraputic release. Last Saturday, some issues were rattling around in my brain, bogging me down; I felt like I needed to get away from my surroundings, so I took the train to Media in order to buy some needed art supplies for my studio art class. It was calming to walk through the town's downtown area, looking at all the busy shops. (Yet at the same time, it was a harsh jolt back into the American shopping scene after spending time in Cuba, where people gave me constant eye contact and smiles walking down the streets. In Media, many shoppers seemed to be floating around in their own individual bubbles, looking down at the sidewalk without acknowledging others around them.)

First I went to the Village Art Supplies to get a pad of drawing paper and a box of pastels. The woman working there was not very friendly, and I didn't even get a smile out of her. Then I went across the street to Rite-Aid, where I stood in the bath/body/beauty supplies aisle for a while, staring at the range of products. The bottles of face wash, lotions, shampoos, moisturizers, facial masks and other such goods always hypnotize me, making me feel the urgent need to buy a bunch of them. I like it in a weird way. It evokes Christmas-y sentiments. I purchased some shaving gel and an alpha-hydroxy cleanser before heading over to a coffee house, where I sat sipping chai. This shopping trip helped me relax and unwind, which is just what I needed.