My Name is Sara and I'm No Longer a Shopaholic (fingers crossed)

Dear Shopping,

Like most people, I spend hours upon hours on the internet, mostly reading blogs and looking at clothes. It goes without saying that in the past year, my online spending has become somewhat outrageous. Don't get me wrong--I've always loved spending time with you. You've repeatedly brought me the prettiest gifts and were there for me at a moments notice. But it's become my go-to pass-time whenever I'm bored. Or happy. Or sad. You know those people who eat their emotions? You and I have entered an unhealthy relationship like such.

It's so simple, what with the internet and all these days. Clothes and shoes of all varieties at your fingertips, ready to be shipped to your doorstep in 3-5 days. I remember when you sent me my first delia's catalog in 7th grade. The first sweater I ordered took 6-8 weeks to arrive, and the shipping was something ridiculous like $12. Now, you send me clothes from London within a week, sometimes for as cheap $6 for shipping. The point I'm trying to get at is that you're so available and in my face these days that it takes supreme will power not to get sucked in and become overly-dependent. I remember seeing one of those specials on MTV, True Life: I'm addicted to shopping where the people featured on it couldn't go 24 hours without you and eventually wound up attending Debtors Anonymous meetings. One of the girls was so compulsive, she would go to 24 hour stores like CVS or Wal-mart just to buy hairbands (or something bizarre like that) for a "fix" at 1am. Fortunately, I haven't succumbed to full fledged addiction like so, but there have been times where I'm in bed thinking about items that I regretfully decided not to purchase earlier in the day, and have gotten up and gone online to buy them. It's no surprise you fill up my inbox every morning with emails titled "New Arrivals!" or "Sale This Weekend, FREESHIP!"

I love you dearly, Shopping, but I don't want to become that girl at Wal-mart at 2 in the morning. So I think it's time you and I started seeing other people. You and I have shared a lot of great memories together, and you were always there for me in my hour of need. But you see, as much as I enjoy our time spent together and the awesome exchange we have going, I think it's time for me to move on to something with more depth.

About 8 months ago, you introduced me to the greatest purchase of my life and ever since, he and I have been inseparable. Yes, I'm talking about my camera. And although he came at a steep price tag, our time together is much easier on my bank balance than you ever were. We spend our free time roaming the streets together, staring into each others eyes; we've already gone on a few trips together. We're even thinking about adding another lens to our little family. As you can see, it's getting pretty serious. I know I'll miss you, dear friend, but I really think we need to spend some time apart. Spread our wings and grow. Don't be sad, you have millions of other admirers to replace me with.

I'm sure we'll still see each other around.

Sincerely,

Sara

P.S. Please don't be offended, but as a precautionary measure, I've spammed your emails.