Blackmail Friday

On Thanksgiving Day, a delicious meal that involves a fat, stuffed turkey is expected. After this day, waking up early and spending money in the malls has also become a habit of American citizens.

This year, I decided to participate in the “Black Friday” tradition. At four in the morning, my sister Sara yelled, “Wake up! We’re going to miss the early bird specials, you lazy ass!” I didn’t want to get up because I was extremely tired from studying the night before, but I did.

At 4:30AM, mom, Sara, and I got in the car and drove to the nearest mall. It was still night -- what the hell were we thinking? Normal people sleep when it is dark out…well, since the streets were full of cars, I guess a lot of people aren’t normal after all.

Only a few minutes from the mall, we approached a stop light. Why do they take forever to turn green when you’re in a rush, anyway? It’s almost as if they know, you know? An older man with his dog stopped his car next to us; he was looking at me and laughing while his pet was barking obnoxiously. No, I don’t hate animals…everything is just a bit annoying at 4:30 in the morning. I rolled down my window and asked the man why he was laughing. He replied, “I’m just excited to go shopping! If anyone tries to bother me and steal my things, my dog will take care of them, you know?” I wanted to answer, “Seriously? Is the mall going to run out of magnifying glasses?” Before I could respond, though, my mother yelled, “Happy shopping, sir! Happy shopping!”

We finally got to the mall; I think we ran inside, actually. I observed the people rushing, stressing, and holding a million and two things in their hands. Mom went to find some good deals on vacuums, while my sister and I went towards the clothes. I could just hear my mom yelling, “Your closets are exploding! Stop buying clothes! Don’t waste your time and your money!” She was long gone to Sears, though.

As I picked out what I would be willing to spend money on, I also checked out the prices on these items. I said to myself, “Hey, this “sale” is really not that great of a sale!”

Most of us know that Black Friday has very few amazing savings, yet we still get up very early to go spend the day shopping. This is because Black Friday has become tradition, and well, we live in a materialistic world. Some like the rush of the hectic-ness, others enjoy spending money, and many love seeing others freak out and run around like a chicken with its head cut off!

Will I wake up at 4AM next year to go shopping? No. Will I go shopping on Black Friday again? Absolutely! I ended up enjoying this tradition and will make it part of my beautiful, mixed culture. I hope that you had a “happy shopping” as well.

In case you're wondering, the gentleman's dog looked just like this! Angry puppy! Haha

















Until next time!