The phrase "Do It Yourself," commonly referred to by the acronym DIY, has all kinds of crafty connotations. The term is often associated with the hippie-type folks who make clothing from recycled T-shirts and carry bags fashioned from duct tape. These people are supposedly trying to make a statement about consumerism and individuality, but my conviction is that once how-to DIY books are being mass marketed, the revolutionary nature of the DIY subculture is lost somewhere along the way to the Urban Outfitters bookshelf.
Though I have indeed dabbled in this type of DIY and am guilty of owning more than one of these how-to manuals (thanks to my super cool middle school self), the form about which I am so enthusiastic is something quite different. It's more of an inner mindset regarding the service industry than an outward expression against manufactured goods. Simply put, I prefer to DO things for myself. I prefer to paint my own nails, tweeze my own brows, cook my own food, decorate my own house, color my own hair etc. I don't do these things for myself out of rebellion or refusal to submit to the service industry, I just enjoy doing them and find it unnecessary to pay someone to do them for me. Okay, so maybe that means I am refusing to submit, just a little bit, but not to make some political statement. Remember, my type of DIY is a mindset, and is of a much more personal nature.
There are a number of reasons why I am this way, and I'm not really sure how to best comprehensively explain them, but I'll try.
- There's no use paying for something that I can do just as well... Yes I know, this sounds extremely selfish and arrogant, but let's be honest; I have faith in my skills and talents.
- Blame... if I entrust someone to do something for me and he or she screws it up, I'll have to blame them, and subsequently blame myself for trusting them and then brood upon it for way too long. If I do it for myself, though, and mess it up, I just think, Lauren you're so retarded, and get over it. If it's my fault, I can fix it.
- Trust... goes hand in hand with blame. You can't always trust people.
- I am extremely detail-oriented and a lot of people are not, meaning they don't pay attention to things I deem important. I'm weird, and I like things to be exactly how I want them to be. And typically, only I can make sure that happens.
- The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I feel upon finishing whatever it is I've done for myself is the encouragement I need to keep doing such things. When I do something myself, I am able to appreciate it on an entirely different level.
- I've learned SO much from doing things for myself. Trust me, I DO make mistakes! In 6th grade I started tweezing my nearly invisible blond eyebrows. I got a little tweezer happy and practically rid myself of the little brows that I had to begin with. It was pretty traumatizing, but eventually they all grew back. I am now confident, after years of practice, in my tweezing efforts and abilities.
By telling you all this, I am not trying to win you over to my DIY way of life. I know that it's not for everyone! That's why we have the service industry! In fact, my hope is that my passion for quality and detail will one day contribute to my own service-related pursuits and endeavors; I believe that the DIY people are the ones who have the most success in doing things for others!
7 years ago
2 comments:
I agree that doing things for one's self can be satisfying, if the results are good. For example, if you cook or bake something delicious that everyone enjoys, this may be something worth doing yourself.
Even if you try to do something and you go incredibly wrong, in the future you will most likely remember the bad experience and not replicate it. This happened to me when I forgot to boil ziti I was putting in a baked ziti. Trust me, I won't make the same mistake again!
However, sometimes it is necessary to commission services from outsiders, especially when the desired product/result is beyond the scope of your repertoire. You may learn how to build a house at some point in your life, but the likelihood is small.
My question to you is when you will submit to outside services. Now we do not have the same responsibilities as our parents and elders have, so when will we have to make the switch? I'm definitely not looking forward to it, since it takes away a lot of the individuality from the results.
By no means am I a complete DIYer, and sorry if I didn't clarify this. I have no plans on becoming a quaker anytime soon. I am a strong supporter of our current market economy and the efficiency that it creates. DIY is something I do out of pure enjoyment and in no way do I allow it to interfere with my daily productive life. Going to get my nails done or to get my bows waxed in fact takes much longer than when I do it myself. Notice, though, that these are very simple tasks. When it becomes inefficient to DIY, it becomes neccessary to hire others to do the task. I submit to outside services daily. I buy coffe out multiple times weekly, even though I know that I can make it better myself. I do this because I want my latte immediately and do not have the time nor desire to do all it takes to make the perfect latte on my own. But when I do have the desire and time, I make that drink and relish every sip. Efiiciency is relative, and is affected by countless factors.
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