Today I experienced a few “problems” that I realized, upon further examination, most people would laughingly refer to as “first world problems”. Urban dictionary defines the term as “Problems from living in a wealthy, industrialized nation that third worlders would probably roll their eyes at.”
First, I really wanted to have my morning cup of tea out of this beautiful teacup I got at Goodwill (did I mention they just built a brand new store 10 minutes from my house?! It’s amazing) for a DOLLAR! But apparently, according to my mothers, it’s really old and painted with gold paint full of lead that could like, kill me or something?!
Isn’t it pretty? But I can’t drink out of it?! Then when doing research about it (upon which I also found a yahoo answer saying, “even if it was lead that isnt enough to hurt you, unless you were an infant and it alll chipped off and you swallowed it, then maybe youd get sick, otherwise lead in small amounts is good, and if there old there most likely good quality, they should be fine” now I’m not saying that my moms are wrong, I’m just saying I like that lady from Virginia’s answer much better) I found it listed on etsy for $30. So now I am confronted with two “problems”, if I keep it I can’t drink from it and if I sell it I could make a $29 profit but then I wouldn’t have this beautifully unique teacup in my collection!
Next, I tried out a new company called Warby Parker. You go to their site, pick out five pairs of frames which they then send you for FREE to try on and then you send them back and if you choose order a pair with your prescription.
It’s pretty cool and I like them all (stay tuned for a future post where you can help me choose the best pair) but now I’m faced with a dilemma, I like them all! How do I choose?!
And lastly, I just feel like ipsy doesn’t get me and it’s so frustrating! Let me explain. I’ve blogged about ipsy before (click to read) but I’ll refresh your memory; Ipsy is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription box. Each month you get full size or deluxe-sized products, plus a cute makeup bag. The products are chosen specifically for you based on a personalized beauty quiz you take when you sign up. I think it’s one of the best value beauty subscriptions and a great way to try out new products and build out your makeup collection for less than the cost of one tube of lip gloss!
But here’s the thing, despite me taking the quiz, sometimes I just feel like they don’t get me at all! Did my personal beauty quiz really make you think I wanted metallic blue liquid liner and lip butter that was the creepiest flesh shade I would only wear if I were playing a corpse in a movie?! Really ipsy?! This has happened several times over the course of my subscription and it gives me pause as to whether I should continue the service.
I realized that all three of these “problems”; the tea cup, the glasses, and the beauty products, really aren’t problems at all. Weird Al even wrote a song about “First World Problems” on his new album, it’s one of the only songs to not directly parody a current popular song. Yankovic instead opts to imitate the Pixies’ style to riff about the hardest parts of life; showers getting cold after a mere hour, friends calling instead of texting, and the perils of low thread counts on the sheets. See the Video here.
My point in all this? Although this post was meant to be a comical one (obviously I have REAL problems like we all do) just because other people have bigger problems you shouldn’t minimize your own. (I’m not referring to the aforementioned ones though) Like when someone says, “well it could be worse, you could have cancer.” That’s true but it doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be sad for what I am dealing with. Everybody has their stuff. But for the most part, we’re pretty spoiled and shouldn’t be complaining about anything. I am grateful for the lack of big problems in my life, and happy to have little “first world” ones. Are you?
beauty & the butcher 