When I was in my early teens, I had a Sunday School buddy who constantly complained to me about how simple I was. Every Sunday she would make statements about either my skirts, shoes or dress. She complained that I repeated clothing too often and I never dressed to her standard.
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She's still like this today even though we're no longer friends. I still dress simply and repeat clothes comfortably while she still shows up every day like she's getting on a runway. She's not a minimalist and explaining the relevance of minimalism to her has often felt like a lost battle.
My parents are both minimalists so they raised us to be just like them. We had the important things and as long as the clothing we had were still pretty, neat and durable, they never thought it was important to buy us new ones.
Then again, my clothes were quite expensive so it only made sense to have just a few of them and change them when it was important. I grew up that way and it has made a lot more sense as I've matured.
Rather than have a thousand pieces of cheap clothing that I'll barely use, I make do with only a few expensive ones that I actually use until I can get rid of them. It's functional and efficient.
Attaining freedom through minimalism
Minimalism has helped me attain a height of mental and physical freedom through acceptance of the person I really am. Having a friend like mine in my younger years made me feel like there was something wrong with me.
As a teen, I felt like if I didn't try to dress like her or have as much stuff as she did, I wasn't meeting the benchmark and it made me feel bad about myself. However, as an adult, I now realise that it's who I am and there's nothing wrong with being this way.
Accepting that I'm a minimalist and that there's nothing wrong with that helped me drop a lot of mental weight of wanting to belong and needing to wear clothes that made me feel uncomfortable. I became more of myself and I've loved it ever since.
My advice on minimalism
In a seemingly complex world, the best thing to anyone can do is accept their simplicity and own it. The world has created an idea of what we should be, thereby making us feel like who we are is too little but that's not the case.
Being a minimalist in this complex world is like a gift we give to ourselves. It's freeing and gives us a chance to see the world beyond its complexities. We need less and therefore have fewer reasons to be so involved in the things that make most people worry so much.
Conclusion
I'm glad I finally accepted myself as a minimalist. At first, I saw it as a trait to be looked down on but growing older, I've accepted that it's one of the best ways to live.
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