For Whatever It's Worth
After a year like that, it’s high time we considered the physical, fiscal, and emotional worth of things.
By David Brewer
Illustration by Stephanie Acedillo
“For whatever it’s worth, …”
I remember hearing my elders loosely use this term during conversation. It was one of those things you’d hear and, over time, it made its way, like linguistic osmosis, into your vocabulary.
Fast forward to the present and we’ve unconsciously applied this term to the current state of reality. To life, really. As we spend numerous hours corresponding through virtual meetings, emails, and endlessly scrolling social media outlets for a glimpse of inspiration, some of us have had dawning moments—epiphanies, if you will—of re-evaluating what we want to definitively deem “essential” in our residences. Especially considering that, this year, we can’t ignore that what we surround ourselves by and with is reflective of our sense of self.
“Especially considering that, this year, we can’t ignore that what we surround ourselves by and with is reflective of our sense of self.”
Value is inherently corroborated by a high-low standard. 2020, nearly to a T, proved that exponentially. It’s easy to dismiss your self-worth when you’ve been in comparative isolation so unexpectedly and for so long. Long enough, in fact, to realize that re-evaluation is the only thing left on the table when we can’t physically be with the communities and like-minded groups we associate with.
But know this: Your value has not diminished. If anything, the change of course has heightened your ability to unknowingly adapt to change. It’s time we do more with less, because, for whatever it’s worth, we owe at least that to ourselves.︎