Why I Like Free T-Shirts
Your first inclination is probably that I like free shirts, because well, they're free! Sounds like a no-brainer, but I think there is more to it than just the price tag. At the very base of this gift giving is the meeting of a human need on it's most fundamental level. And beyond that, you are doing it at a sacrificial cost to yourself. I know shirts are only $10, but if you multiply that times 10+ (hundreds for events), then you have a substantial cost.
I think I have always been sensitive free clothing because I grew up in poverty. When I went to college at the age of 17, I was the first person in my immediate family to graduate from high school. Not only that, but I was paying for college on my own (read: taking out loans). I had no financial support from home, so the decisions, budget, etc. was on my shoulders. During my first few years at college, I worked through the student worker program and brought home $25 a paycheck after all my tuition/bills were paid. My socks had holes in them, my clothing was eclectic to say the least, and I loved free shirt.
Mind you reader, this was the late 90's and internet was just starting to become popular. I created my first e-mail account in 1997. A thought occurred to me while doing so, "I could enter free t-shirt contests online." That I did. Lots of them. And my efforts paid off when a shirt with this fellow rolled into my campus mailbox:
The contest was simple. The makers of Cherryman started a story and it was up to the participants to finish it by entering a blurb that ended with a leading sentence, so the next guy could add their bit and so forth. I don't remember what I wrote, but it was good enough to win me a free shirt!
All that to say that the next time you win a free shirt, be grateful. Paul put it this way, "I've learned to be content in whatever situation I am in." (Phillipians 4:11)
Do you have a favorite free t-shirt?
I think I have always been sensitive free clothing because I grew up in poverty. When I went to college at the age of 17, I was the first person in my immediate family to graduate from high school. Not only that, but I was paying for college on my own (read: taking out loans). I had no financial support from home, so the decisions, budget, etc. was on my shoulders. During my first few years at college, I worked through the student worker program and brought home $25 a paycheck after all my tuition/bills were paid. My socks had holes in them, my clothing was eclectic to say the least, and I loved free shirt.
Mind you reader, this was the late 90's and internet was just starting to become popular. I created my first e-mail account in 1997. A thought occurred to me while doing so, "I could enter free t-shirt contests online." That I did. Lots of them. And my efforts paid off when a shirt with this fellow rolled into my campus mailbox:
The contest was simple. The makers of Cherryman started a story and it was up to the participants to finish it by entering a blurb that ended with a leading sentence, so the next guy could add their bit and so forth. I don't remember what I wrote, but it was good enough to win me a free shirt!
All that to say that the next time you win a free shirt, be grateful. Paul put it this way, "I've learned to be content in whatever situation I am in." (Phillipians 4:11)
Do you have a favorite free t-shirt?
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