I have a lot of clothes

 I have always had an eye towards fashion and style. In the last few weeks, though, I have been seeing clothes and fashion differently. Clothes are an easy status indicator in America. You know you think it: the in and the not in... the out, I guess. I am pretty sure there is no way I can describe this situation and still make myself look good- so here goes. 

 I have a lot of clothes. Lots. I can switch outfits and not run out for ... well longer than I will admit on this blog. This fact was never bothersome to me because the majority of people surrounding me had the same freedom of fashion. 

Today, I live in a country with a remarkable, exploding economy that has allowed people to attain comfortable living above the previous generation. Still, people earn a lot less on average here than the average American family. Therefore, I expected people here to wear the same clothes, because, well, this is still in my mind a "developing" country. Whatever that means anymore.

But I am almost ashamed to admit that I have been taken aback by my classmates' wardrobes. Oh so embarrassing to share, but I must. - My classmates generally wear the same 3 or 4 outfits to class. To wear the same thing two (or three or four or five) days in a row- totally normal. These are students from "rich" countries- Germany, UK, Finland, South Korea, Japan. 

Ok, enough musings. The fact of the matter is this: I have grown up in a country where the disposable income (money left over after major life expenses) is markably higher than every other country. Our purchasing power, as Americans, is ridiculous. I know that things are different in the US- but still, for the past 2 decades when I was alive we have been able to buy buy buy. Regardless how bad the economy gets in the US, I cannot deny the fact that I- WE- are still in the upper upper percentile of people in this world. We can afford to buy more clothes than we know what to do with. I have so much stttuuuuffffff. 

Puts my life, on this earth, right now, in perspective.