Been There, Done That, Got the T-Shirt!

I have a weakness for free stuff whether it’s food, a t-shirt, or some other item. I am one of those people that will drive across town if Chick-fil-A is advertising free fries. I am also that person that dresses up like a cow every summer for a free meal at Chick-fil-A as well. Free samples at the grocery store? I'm totally there! It doesn't take much to make my day!

Source: Chick-Fil-A

Wesleyan enabled my free t-shirt addiction. For almost every event or club we had t-shirts made. I have class shirts from almost every year, shirts proclaiming membership in the 500 million clubs I was in, shirts from different athletic teams, shirts from STUNT…the list goes on and on. Yes, I did pay for a few, but that’s beside the point.

My senior year of college, I joined the NCAA basketball team. I wanted to get in better shape for equestrian that year, and it didn’t hurt that we got free tennis shoes. What can I say? I have a problem! After graduation, I spent a week in Tennessee with a good friend volunteering for the IHSA National Horse Show. The biggest draw- free meals, hotel, and a free t-shirt for every day of the week we worked. We worked over 80 hours...

And my collection continues to grow! Alumnae weekend was last weekend and guess what?! I came home with TWO t-shirts! One day I will make that t-shirt quilt, but until then, they shall be safely preserved in a Tupperware box only to be pulled out in desperate laundry times.

Source: Personal Photo
Look at this gorgeous shirt designed by the lovely and talented Jaime McQuilkin

And it's not just clothing! This past week, I headed to school for an exam in one of my graduate classes. It was a very informal final where we basically shared what we had learned while completing the project. I was a little angry that I had driven two hours for a two-minute presentation, when the magic word was stated... "FREE!"

Apparently, my professor was moving out of state having taken a new position with another university and she had to clean out her office. She came in with stacks of textbooks, and most of them had never been opened. Needless to say, I loaded up my book bag with as many as I could carry based on titles that interested me. When I got home, I realized that most of them were very recent, and would actually be quite useful! I was ecstatic! I probably ended up with over $500 of free textbooks!

I know. I'm strange. They're just textbooks, you're thinking- but I love books, and this is not the first time I've gotten a good load of free books! My dream is to one day have built-in bookshelves and be able to fill them, and I am well on my way!

Does anyone else get excited about random free things?