--- title: The sad reason I only wear brand name t-shirts description: The sad reason I only wear brand name t-shirts image: https://blog.iamsecond.com/hubfs/4-t-shirt-pexels-photo-101584-3_web.jpg --- - Shop - [Media Store](https://iamsecond.vhx.tv/) - [I Am Second Store](https://store.iamsecond.com/) - [Our Story](https://www.iamsecond.com/our-story/) - [Donate](https://www.iamsecond.com/donate/) [Log In](https://www.iamsecond.com/join/) [![](https://www.iamsecond.com/wp-content/themes/blackhawk/assets/img/i-am-second-logo-black.svg)](https://www.iamsecond.com/) - [Stories](https://www.iamsecond.com/film/) - [Articles](https://blog.iamsecond.com) - [Live Second](https://www.iamsecond.com/live-second/) [![](https://www.iamsecond.com/wp-content/themes/blackhawk/assets/img/i-am-second-logo-black.svg)](https://www.iamsecond.com/join/) [![](https://www.iamsecond.com/wp-content/themes/blackhawk/assets/img/i-am-second-logo.svg)](https://www.iamsecond.com/join/) [Log In](https://www.iamsecond.com/join/) - [Stories](https://www.iamsecond.com/film) - [Articles](https://blog.iamsecond.com) - [Live Second](https://www.iamsecond.com/live-second/) - Shop - [Media Store](https://iamsecond.vhx.tv/) - [I Am Second Store](https://store.iamsecond.com/) - [Our Story](https://www.iamsecond.com/our-story/) - [Donate](https://www.iamsecond.com/donate/) [Joy & Gratitude](https://blog.iamsecond.com/tag/joy-gratitude) # The sad reason I only wear brand name t-shirts Doug Bender June 07, 2017 | 3 minute read [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20blog%20from%20I%20Am%20Second&body=https://blog.iamsecond.com/the-sad-reason-i-only-wear-brand-name-t-shirts](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20blog%20from%20I%20Am%20Second&body=https://blog.iamsecond.com/the-sad-reason-i-only-wear-brand-name-t-shirts) ![](https://blog.iamsecond.com/hubfs/4-t-shirt-pexels-photo-101584-3_web.jpg) [![Back](https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/5261881/New%20Site/Images/backFilled.svg) Back to All Posts](https://blog.iamsecond.com/) I can still see the sales rack in my mind. I can hear the hangers clanking as I fingered through the T-shirts. I can even tell you exactly where in the store I stood staring at the bright yellow and blue “3 for $18.99” sales sign. All my clothes came via my older brother, thrift shops, or family friends. Well, except the clothes my mom made herself. So, maybe I wasn’t the most stylish kid on the block. Obviously, this sales rack meant some desperately needed style in my life. No more handmade clothes and no more hand-me-downs. This was a shot at the real thing. My homeschool co-op was going to think me the hottest kid at the science fair. Yes, I was homeschooled and my mom made my clothes. I know. I know. #### This was a shot at the real thing. My homeschool co-op was going to think me the hottest kid at the science fair. --- Never mind, that it was a discount retail store where I stood staring at the rack. Mom told me I could pick from that rack any three T-shirts. Three! Can you imagine that. I’d never had three new shirts ever. I could only pick from that one rack, but who cares. They were new and not made by mom. I love you, mom! Twenty years later, I can still feel the emotional rise and joy of the moment. I touched and examined every one of those shirts. I was there for at least an hour engulfed in decision making. Looney Tunes were cool then. Well, at least I thought they were, but we’ve already discussed my level of style at the time. I got one Tasmanian Devil shirt with some sassy saying, a Daffy Duck shirt, and a Looney Tunes compilation shirt. And I wore those things for years, and I do mean years. Of all my early childhood, those shirts rank top four possessions along with a Styrofoam plane, Mario Brothers, and a Mickey Mouse that read books to me. I’m now married, have kids, a good job. And I don’t shop at that store anymore. A class thing, I guess. Somehow, it feels below me. I’m embarrassed to even say that. I erased this paragraph like five times trying to decide if I’d even tell you this. But there it is. I think I’m too good to shop at that discount retailer. What happened? Those shirts brought me years of joy and pride but now I’ve got a brand name shirt on. And the thing is, I’m no happier than I was twenty years ago wearing those Looney Tunes T-shirts. --- #### The problem isn't that I don't have a nicer shirt, because I got that. The problem is I think that nicer shirt will make me happy. --- There is a name for this. It’s called materialism. Sometimes it’s called the love of money, greed, or discontentment. Whatever we call it, I’ve got it. I find myself leaning on money and stuff for happiness. I haven’t learned to beat it yet. I'd like to be perfectly content with any financial situation. That'd be just plain contentment. I'm not. I find myself at a place I call happy discontentment. I don't spend crazy or have a house full of stuff I don't use, but I do carry with me this itch for more. I don't need more, but something in me wants more. I'm happy with my life, but carry with me this discontented itch. So, I find myself at happy discontentment. No matter how many shirts I buy or how much money I spend on those shirts, I’ve never been happier than when I got three terribly 90’s Looney Tunes T-shirts. The problem isn’t that I don’t have a nicer shirt, because I got that. The problem is I think that nicer shirt will make me happy. **[![](https://blog.iamsecond.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/profile-pic-300x291-6.jpg?width=300&name=profile-pic-300x291-6.jpg)](https://blog.iamsecond.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/profile-pic-6.jpg)Doug Bender **is an I Am Second writer, small groups coach, and author of *[I Am Second: Real Stories. Changing Lives.](http://www.iamsecondstore.com/fans__promotional_products__books__I_Am_Second__Real_Stories,_Changing_Lives_Book_(PaperBack)____7-cp-ia9908a#.WQCJ9tLyvIU) *and [*Live Second: 365 Ways to Make Jesus First*.](http://www.iamsecondstore.com/fans__promotional_products__books__I_Am_Second____7-cp-ia9907a#.WQCKF9LyvIU) #### More from Doug Bender **[13 Reasons Why NOT: an Open Letter to My Friend Who Committed Suicide-](http://www.iamsecond.com/2017/05/13-reasons-why-not-an-open-letter-to-my-friend-who-committed-suicide/) **I was the last person you ever called and I missed it. I’m still not sure how it happened. But you took your life before I could call you back. I remember calling the next day. Your mom answered and said they couldn’t find you. **[Friend or Foe: My Brain Can't Tell the Difference-](http://www.iamsecond.com/2017/05/friend-foe/) **That moment sent me on a dizzying journey that eventually led to the discovery that I have a defect. My brain isn’t normal. I lack the mental ability to identify people by their face. It’s an actual thing, face blindness, they call it. **[How Ashton Kutcher Saved Me from Growing a Beard-](http://www.iamsecond.com/2017/04/how-ashton-kutcher-saved-me-from-growing-a-beard/) **I didn’t have a topic, experience, training, or any actual plan to make this happen. I just thought one day inspiration would strike while I sipped a macchiato at some sidewalk café and out would pop a book and my hairy face would be on the back cover. *(Photo source: pexels.com)*   ![Doug Bender](https://blog.iamsecond.com/hubfs/Doug-Bender_00033-1500x1000.jpeg) ### Doug Bender Doug Bender is an I Am Second writer and small groups coach. He developed many of the small group tools found at iamsecond.com and has coached churches, organizations, and individuals to use I Am Second groups to share the message of Jesus with their friends and family. He also works with I Am Second's parent organization, e3 Partners, as a church planter and pastor in countries such as Ethiopia, Colombia, and the US. Doug and his wife, Catherine, have four children: Bethany, Samuel, Isabella, and Jesse. Follow Doug Bender [More from Doug Bender](https://blog.iamsecond.com/author/doug-bender) [Leave a Comment](https://blog.iamsecond.com/the-sad-reason-i-only-wear-brand-name-t-shirts#comments-listing) ## Related Content [Identity & Purpose](https://blog.iamsecond.com/tag/identity-purpose) | Doug Bender ### [Lessons from a Modern Shepherd](https://blog.iamsecond.com/lessons-from-a-modern-shepherd) [Joy & Gratitude](https://blog.iamsecond.com/tag/joy-gratitude) | Doug Bender ### [How To Turn Your Holidays Into a Season of Gratefulness](https://blog.iamsecond.com/season-of-gratefulness) [Culture](https://blog.iamsecond.com/tag/culture) | Doug Bender ### [Spiritual Adulting: It’s Time to Grow Up](https://blog.iamsecond.com/spiritual-adulting) ### Search for what you’d like to read about [Learn To Live Second](https://www.iamsecond.com/live-second/) [View The Community](https://www.iamsecond.com/do-more/) ![](https://www.iamsecond.com/wp-content/themes/blackhawk/assets/img/footer-line.svg) - [Film](https://www.iamsecond.com/film/) - [Subscribe](https://www.iamsecond.com/#modal-subscribe) - [International](https://support.iamsecond.com/international) - [Contact & Help](https://support.iamsecond.com/) - [Our Story](https://www.iamsecond.com/our-story/) - [Donate](https://www.iamsecond.com/donate/) Get all the latest updates from I Am Second by signing up for the monthly newsletter! 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