Developing Jen

Now this is interesting. I’ve subscribed for a while now to Daily Candy, which is a daily email whose value is in its restaurant, shopping, and culture tips in the city you live in. I’ve always been a bit struck by the tone they take, and how consumerist their emails are. It’s always felt very superficial, shallow, consumed with status, and imbued with a sense of superiority. The underlying message has always seemed to be “you will be so hip and cool if only you are shopping here or dining there.”

Getting out of the States in general always makes me more conscious of how easily we get wrapped up in our possessions and our status. I used to work 80 hours a week as a consultant, make $60,000 a year, and blow it all and more on clothes, shoes, and purses. I left my consulting job almost $20,000 in debt. More of my girlfriends than not are in credit card debt. I have girlfriends in medical school in New York spend thousand dollars on purses (I understand consumption smoothing but still...). It’s a sickness that far too many Americans suffer from that is all too easy to fall prey to. Part of the value of working in development for me is that it reminds me to not be consumed by consumerism.

So I opened my Dedicated Daily Candy email this morning and it was about… mascara. And lipstick. Here are a few excerpts:

If it wasn't so concerning it would be comical that I’ll be in one of the poorest countries on the planet this summer, getting fed this nonsense on a daily basis.