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December 6, 2017
English Department
Salt Lake Community College
4600 South Redwood Road
Salt Lake City, UT 84123
Shanon Gunn
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Table Of Contents
Shanon Gunn
English 2010-08
Salt Lake Community College
November 2nd, 2017
Never Too Late
I never thought it would take until I was thirty years old to go to college. While I was in
high school, I took a few concurrent enrollment classes, but I always wanted the experience of
actually going to college. If you had asked me back then where Id be in my life at thirty, I would
have said I hope to be working in the dental field, be married and have children. Luckily, I
have two of those three now, but life got in the way of going to college right after high school.
Instead, my daughter was born two months after I graduated. I had to work a lot to support her,
so college was out of the question right away. Her dad and I were married when she was almost
one year old.
As the years went on, it seemed harder and harder to go back to college. My husband
decided to attend a technical school which required us to move across the country to
Pennsylvania. While he attended school, I stayed home with our daughter. It was important to me
to be able to stay home with her, and any job I could get would not pay enough to cover the costs
of daycare. We really enjoyed our time living in Pennsylvania, but when my husband graduated,
we moved back to Utah so he could go to work for his familys business. I was pregnant with our
son at the time, so as soon as our daughter went to school full time, I was again home with a
newborn.
I have been lucky enough to only work part time while my kids were very young. I have
only ever had a job, but always wanted a career. I knew I needed to go to college to find a career
that I would love. Since starting college again last summer, the classes I have taken have helped
me gain a greater appreciation for the world around me and have a better understanding of the
way the world works. While I havent decided which field I will go in to, I am enjoying taking a
variety of classes to expand my knowledge.
I cant dwell too much on the thoughts of what could have been had I gone to college
earlier in life. All I know is that the time I put in to getting a college education is time well spent.
Regardless of what field I decide to go into, the knowledge I have gained will benefit my life and
my familys as well. I want my children to see the positive impact that getting an education can
have in your life. I hope that they can see from my example that it is never too late to follow your
dreams.
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Shanon Gunn
English 2010-08
Salt Lake Community College
18 October 2017
your belongings own you? Our country has become one of excess in everything we do. We buy
more than we need and dispose of goods so rapidly, our landfills are overflowing. Levels of
pollution are rising and are likely contributing to a change in our climate. Not only is the rise of
consumerism contributing to the pollution of the Earth, it has also been shown to pollute our
everyday lives and lead to lower levels of happiness. How did we get here, and what can we do
to change our behavior? Through my research, I have learned about the rapid rise of
consumerism throughout history, as well as how it is currently affecting our everyday lives. I
found resources that show levels of excessive materialism lead to decreased happiness. I also
found hopeful ways in which we can change our everyday lives in order to combat the effects of
consumerism on our happiness and the environment. I hope to present these findings in a way
that can change peoples buying behavior and lead to positive changes overall.
understanding the history. The article Consumerism from Encyclopedia.com gives a detailed
1700s when colonists had to learn to produce the goods they needed. Through the 1800s the
Steamships and railroads made transporting goods across the U.S. much quicker and cheaper.
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Then in the 1900s the automobile gave consumers even more access to manufactured goods. It
was also the beginning of consumer credit, as automobiles were too expensive for most people to
pay cash for them. Advertising through the 1920s also contributed to a rise in the sale of
household goods. The stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression led to a drop
in the economy and production of goods, but eventually sales resumed and continued rising.
After World War II in the 1940s came the Baby Boomer Generation and the beginnings of the
manufacturing, as well as advertising and social media have contributed to the rise of
consumerism and have led to the state we find ourselves in today (Consumerism).
rates. The website Worldwatch Institute states The United States, with less than 5 % of the
global population, uses about a quarter of the worlds fossil fuel resourcesburning up nearly 25
% of the coal, 26 % of the oil, and 27 % of the worlds natural gas (The State). The
unintended consequences of a growing economy have resulted in air and water pollution at
extraordinary levels. This article gives a thorough look at many statistics surrounding the effects
of consumerism on not only the environment, but society as well. The article states that:
Individuals often face personal costs associated with heavy levels of consumption:
the financial debt; the time and stress associated with working to support high
possessions; and the ways in which consumption replaces time with family and
The article paints a bleak picture of the future if our amounts of consumption are to continue at
Not only does the manufacturing of the products we use contribute to pollution of the air
and water sources, higher levels of consumption have also been shown to pollute ones way of
thinking and contribute to unhappiness in their life. I found many articles with the consistent
theme that higher levels of consumption and materialism lead to unhappiness. The article
Consumerism and its Discontents states for materialists with less money and other conflicting
Those with strong materialistic wants report greater unhappiness in relationships, often due to the
Another article, The Brief, Tragic Reign of Consumerism And the Birth of a Happy
Alternative, gives an overview of how excessive consumerism has increased the economy, yet
led to people becoming more dissatisfied with their lives. The author, Richard Heinberg, gives
examples of why consumerism is hurting us. First, he states, it warps peoples values. He gives
economist Thorstein Veblen in his 1899 book, The Theory of the Leisure Class. Conspicuous
consumption is referred to as the acquiring of luxury goods solely for the purpose of establishing
status (Conspicuous Consumption). Even though his theory was developed over one hundred
years ago, it still rings true today, as everything from our cars to our cell phones, even clothing
and shoes are purchased with the hope that we will be noticed and admired for the things we
own. A second problem seen with consumerism is that it cannot continue at its current rates. The
author states that even at a fraction of one percent per year growth in consumption, all of
Earths resources would eventually be used up (Heinberg). Even though excessive consumerism
is having a negative effect on both society and the environment, he still argues that if everyone
were to stop using and purchasing items, it would have a negative effect on jobs, pension funds,
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government services and the economy. The result would be a deep, long-lasting economic
depression (Heinberg). The author concludes with examples of new ways that countries are
looking at levels of consumption and satisfaction. Instead of focusing on the Gross Domestic
Product of the country, they are focusing on new statistics, Gross National Happiness and the
Happy Planet Index. The point of GNH and HPI is to count economic success more by how
people feel about their lives and circumstances, and less by measuring consumption (Heinberg).
The Happy Planet Index rates countries on four elements: Wellbeing, Life Expectancy,
Inequality, and Ecological Footprint. Even though the United States is thought of as being one of
the best countries in which to live, it ranks 108th out of 140 countries rated. This is due in large
part to our large ecological footprint. The United States material wealth isnt being translated
efficiently into sustainable wellbeing for its residents (Happy Planet Index).
Since it would be impossible for consumers to cease buying new things, what are the
alternatives to the lifestyle we have become accustomed to? According to Miriam Tatzel, Ph.D,
reducing our consumption of material items can help not only the environment, but our
happiness as well. In her presentation to The American Psychological Associations 122nd annual
convention in 2014, she explains that peoples wants escalate as they tire of what they have and
they want something else, which in turn leads to more consumption and more waste in landfills,
more energy consumed and more carbon emitted into the atmosphere (Happier). She also
gives several examples of how to achieve both happiness and improve the environment. One is
learning how to live a thriftier lifestyle. Also, spend time doing things that you enjoy, rather than
buying new things. Studies have shown that people experience more lasting happiness from
experiences rather than material goods. Another example is to cultivate talents and relationships,
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rather than pursuing money and social status. Being an independent thinker and not worrying
what others think of you or your possessions can also help improve overall satisfaction.
In conclusion, even though the rise of consumerism has developed rapidly, there seems to
be no end to the rising production of goods in our economy. The world population is rapidly
increasing. Developing countries are becoming more advanced and are creating an even higher
demand for manufactured goods. Studies are showing that owning more possessions does not
make us happier, that in fact the opposite is happening. We are becoming less dissatisfied with
our current situations in life as we acquire more goods. While there may not be anything we can
do in the immediate future to stop the high rate of producing goods, we can take small steps now
to change our behavior. We must be more mindful of how and what we consume. Find a balance
between the things you own and those that matter the most to you; your relationships, the
Works Cited
Consumerism." Encyclopedia.com, 2003, www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-
thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/consumerism. Accessed 10 September 2017.
"Consumerism and its Discontents." American Psychological Association, June 2004,
www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/discontents.aspx. Accessed 19 September 2017.
"Happier Consumers Can Lead to Healthier Environment, Research Reveals." American
Psychological Association, 9 August 2014,
www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/08/happier-consumers.aspx. Accessed 27
September 2017.
"Happy Planet Index." Happy Planet Index, happyplanetindex.org/countries/united-states-of-
america. Accessed 10 October 2017.
Heinberg, Richard. "The Brief Tragic Reign of Consumerism - and the birth of a happy
alternative." Post Carbon Institute, 14 April 2014, www.postcarbon.org/the-brief-tragic-
reign-of-consumerism-and-the-birth-of-a-happy-alternative/. Accessed 20 September
2017.
"The State of Consumption Today." Worldwatch Institute, 2016,
www.worldwatch.org/node/810#4. Accessed 27 September 2017.
"What Is Conspicuous Consumption." What is Conspicuious Consumption?,
www.conspicuousconsumption.org. Accessed 30 September 2017.
Gunn 10
Shanon Gunn
English 2010-08
Salt Lake Community College
25 November 2017
Less is More
research for my exploratory essay, I found many negative aspects of excessive consumerism.
Pollution of the environment as well as ones happiness is one main negative of excessive
consumerism. The Earths resources will not be able to keep up with the rate of manufacturing
going on today (The State). Another negative factor is the accumulation of debt and the time
wasted caring for goods we purchase. This leads to people having to spend more time working
just to pay for the accumulation of goods (Consumerism and its Discontents). But what would
In the article The Brief, Tragic Reign of Consumerism And the Birth of a Happy
Alternative, author Richard Heinberg gives an example of what could happen if consumerism as
Commerce would contract; jobs would vanish; pension funds would lose value;
tax revenues would shrivel, and so would government services. Absent sweeping
structural changes to government and the economy, the result would be a deep,
We all know that we can not stop making purchases and that companies will not stop producing
What can be done to stop the growing discontent that is felt with the endless pursuit of
goods? What happens when you realize that the pursuit of happiness no longer involves spending
more than you have to impress those around you? When your home is overrun with useless items
and your wallet is empty? I believe that one solution to this problem is implementing certain
Minimalism is defined as the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the
removal of everything that distracts us from it (Becker). Minimalism does not mean owning
very few possessions, rather owning what you need to survive. It means not chasing after the
newest or most expensive items. It is identifying what you value most in terms of needs and
wants and how you spend your time. Minimalism is redirecting your desires and focusing on
Buddhism and Taoism, philosophies that believe in the practice of simplicity, modesty, and
letting go (Gevorkova). Minimalism takes great changes in behavior and thought and being able
to let go of possessions that you no longer need or bring joy to your life. It is being able to be
okay with living with less. Minimalism is not only a physical practice. It can also be applied to
other aspects of your life, such as work and relationships. Shifting from a life of excess to one of
minimalism can be a hard transition that takes practice and mindfulness. It is not an easy process,
and one that will challenge you to keep trying. With each success though, you will find
However, minimalism is a struggle known mostly only to those in the middle and upper
classes. What about those that dont have the luxury of owning too many things? We live in a
society of excess, as long as you have the means to pay for it. But not all are so fortunate to
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claim that too many possessions are making them unhappy. Many people just struggling to get
by would give anything to have the problems faced by mostly middle-class citizens. Minimalism
can also help free up time and resources that can be spent towards helping others.
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Works Cited
Becker, Joshua. Buying Stuff Wont Make You Happy. Becoming Minimalist, 2016,
www.becomingminimalist.com/buying-stuff-wont-make-you-happy/. Accessed 12
November 2017.
- - -. Find a Rational Minimalism that Works For You. Becoming Minimalist, 2014,
www.becomingminimalist.com/find-a-minimalism-that-works-for-you/. Accessed 12
November 2017.
Consumerism and its Discontents. American Psychological Association, June 2004,
www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/discontents.aspx. Accessed 19 September 2017.
Gevorkova, Lolitta. On Minimalism: A Solution to Gaining More Time. Evernote, 01 February
2017. https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2017/02/01/on-minimalism-a solution-to-gaining-
more-time/. Accessed 12 November 2017
Heinberg, Richard. "The Brief Tragic Reign of Consumerism - and the birth of a happy
alternative." Post Carbon Institute, 14 April 2014, www.postcarbon.org/the-brief-tragic-
reign-of-consumerism-and-the-birth-of-a-happy-alternative/. Accessed 20 September
2017.
"The State of Consumption Today." Worldwatch Institute, 2016,
www.worldwatch.org/node/810#4. Accessed 27 September 2017.