Growing up, my father believed Black Friday was a “trap into capitalism,” meaning every Black Friday, we would stay in and spend a family day together. Throughout my childhood, Black Friday shopping never crossed my mind. Mostly, it just seemed scary and overwhelming. I was completely fine with passing out after a Thanksgiving meal instead of waiting in ridiculous lines for entry into stores. Entering middle school, Black Friday was obsessed upon by fellow middle school girls. Everyone would talk about where they went, what they got, and how much they paid. I was very confused by this obsession, but I went along with it. Every year, it got more and more intense, and I started to become very intrigued. My friends would share how their families made it a tradition to go out and wait in lines overnight to go into places like Target or Walmart. This to me was very exciting and interesting because I grew up thinking Black Friday was automatically a bad thing, but for many families, it was a way to shop while being together.
This Black Friday, November 23rd, 2018 my aunt, my cousin and I headed out to Franklin Park Mall in Toledo, Ohio, for Black Friday shopping. Because I was on a flight the night before, I wasn’t able to go shopping on Thursday evening, but to me, Black Friday was still a big deal. Driving toward the mall traffic was very busy. The parking lot was packed full and there were people everywhere. So going in I was very excited, but once we were actually shopping I wasn’t impressed. First, we went into Old Navy, and the first thing I noticed was the check out line was stretched out to the very back of the store. Personally, I hate checkout lines; they have always seemed pointless, waiting hours just to buy puy products for five or ten dollars off. This was all overwhelming and not in a good way. Right away, I was not impressed by Black Friday. All I could focus on was all the people working, and the long checkout lines. In the end, I did end up getting a couple of nice items, but I prefer online shopping. Now I am realizing that although my father and I disagreed on a lot, sitting out on Black Friday is something we can agree on.