Life is scattered with small joys that bring a shift to the everyday monotony.Last weeks UniDiversity activities in the LSC mall area are now numbered in my memory with the other small joys of this life. While meandering from one class to the next, a friend and I came upon the “Taste of France” activities put on by the Office of Multicultural and International Student Services.
All of a sudden the sleepy boredom of everyday activity was vitalized by one four letter word: free.We had a caricature drawn. We ate gumbo.We made a little craft with sparkly stuff.And yet the piece de resistance of the entire experience was of course the free t-shirt. People will do anything for a free t-shirt.Sign up for a 46% interest rate credit card and get a free t-shirt? Heck yeah! Take a poll that will get you 60 years of junk mail, bad luck and a free t-shirt? Bring it on! Eat three hundred fire ants causing likely death and get a free t-shirt? At least you’ll go out in style.Free stuff makes anything bearable.
As a child, I remember calling Sandals for an information packet to the couples resort simply because it was free.As a pre-teen, after I learned how to use the internet, I remember searching online to find websites for free samples.When the nice ladies with hairnets offer free samples of teriyaki in the grocery store, I almost hurt myself and fellow shoppers trying to get to the tiny cup of free chicken.
Thanks to the Office of M.I.S.S. and other campus organizations, we can all enjoy free stuff through our time as students.Next time there is a large crowd of people gathered in the mall area, don’t be intimidated. Step right up and join in the fun.After all, it’s free.