Finale

As things come to a close, I remember back to a quote I brought up in one of my first posts:
"All that glitters, isn't gold". I remember sitting down at the computer, writing that and wondering what that actually means. I even considered...what if this premise, this idea that I've founded my whole blog upon, fails me?

Months later and now feeling that I've gotten a better understanding of what this quote means, I hope that I've offered you, the readers, some ideas to consider. I hope that you too have found an explanation for this quote...or at least reconsidered the implication of appearance in our lives. While I may not continue to post new ideas onto this blog, I think my mission has been complete if I've laid the foundation to consider the role of appearance and aesthetics. From politics, music, art, grocery shopping, and honestly, so much more.. the glitter seems to captivate people more often than not. But the fascination of aesthetics, the glitter in our lives, doesn't always have to influence our decisions. We just have to be conscious about it.

As a college-bound student, I'm thinking more and more about being a smart consumer. While it may not be an obvious part of being a smart consumer, I find that understanding how appearances and, in general, superficiality, affects me. For example, after reading an excerpt in English class of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and studying the factors that affect what we buy at the supermarket, I began to go grocery shopping with a completely new outlook. I never realized how much the appearance of the food- the packaging- affecting my decisions on what to buy. For a college-bound student, this information was admittedly pertinent to me. I'm going to be shopping on my own in a couple months and will have to be "in tune" with what is going on in my head when I'm making decisions.

I understand that this example may not be pertinent to you, the reader, in particular, and I understand that some of my posts may not have been personally relevant, but I truly believe that the influence of appearance and aesthetics on our decision-making processes and thoughts in general is strong. So my parting words are these: I want this idea to stay in your mind. Whether you're a college-bound student, a job-seeker, a teacher...whatever it is that you are passionate about doing...make appearance/aesthetics another lens that you use to be a smart consumer or even just a more perceptive and curious human being.