Shopping on a Budget

During my trip with the National Millennial and Gen Z Community in Charlotte, North Carolina, we experienced and participated in different activities. It was difficult for me to choose and write about one specific part of our trip. However, if I had to choose, the most memorable one for me had to be the Simon Mall challenge.

All the members arrived thinking we were meeting Simon Malls CEO, but instead we were surprised with a challenge. I love spontaneous surprises, so this was right up my alley.

The community, were split up into teams of three. Each team was assigned to create two summer college outfits, bonus points if you created three outfits with at least one accessory and a pair of shoes. Members, were given two envelopes.

In the first envelope were either gift cards, cash, or both, each containing a different amount. The second envelope contained the name of the store we had to shop in. In addition, we were able to shop in two other stores that we liked.

We had to use our experience as college students to stay within budget; this tested creativity, ingenuity, and other skills like budgeting and time management.

Our teams envelope had $100 cash and Belk, a regional department store. We had only an hour and a half to complete our task. Through this team-building exercise, I had a lot of fun getting to know my team that I had just met. Each members creative styles were unique, and it was interesting to hear about their thought processes when buying clothes on a budget.

I enjoyed shopping at Belk; I have never been or heard of this department store. In Los Angeles, we don't have one.

I am proud to share that my team created three outfits within our budget and even had money left over!

One of the ways that we utilized our creativity was by using rubber bands to fulfill our accessory requirements. While another team might have thought to put them in their hair, we used the rubber bands to create friendship bracelets. We killed two birds with one stone as we were able to make two accessories out of one item and also commemorate the bond we created during the challenge. It was also partially due to our creativity with these bracelets that our team won first place in the challenge.

The best part of this challenge was not the chance to spend time shopping or that we won. Instead, it was the amount of support everyone gave each other when we did our mini fashion show. Although it was a competition against the other teams, everyone cheered for one another as we each went down the imaginary runway, showing off our outfits for Luquire, a public relations agency.

As I mentioned before, most of us did not know each other before this trip. Therefore, seeing that much positivity and support from individual's we had just met meant a lot to me. The fact that each activity we engaged in had a connection in some way was another detailed aspect I enjoyed.

The Simon Mall challenge was not a random task that NMGZ decided to give us but rather a unique opportunity to make a connection with Luquire, whose client is Simon Mall. I am glad we helped Luquire get some insight into our Gen Z mindset on how we shop on a budget while also engaging in activities that helped propel our creativity and nurture meaningful friendships.