PARENTS: PLEASE TEACH YOUR KIDS HUMILITY 🙏🏼
Yesterday during class, a student asked me if my jacket came from Wal-Mart. I smiled and said, “Actually, I got it from the GW!”
“The what??”
“You know… the Goodwill! 🤩💁🏼♀️💃🏼” cue the Elle Woods hair flip
Suddenly, I had everyone’s attention.
“That’s nasty, Mrs. Hicks.”
“I wouldn’t wear clothes somebody else already wore.”
“I only wear Nike and stuff.”
And that’s when the real lesson started.
Here’s the truth: whether my clothes are brand new or secondhand, from Wal-Mart or a name-brand store, they all get washed in the same machine, with the same soap and water, right along with our work clothes, play clothes, church clothes, and farm clothes. 🙃
What most people don’t realize is that almost all of our clothes—regardless of the label—are made in the same textile factories overseas. And yes, I’ve found plenty of name brands at Goodwill: Nike, Under Armour, Ralph Lauren, Carhartt, Daniel Cremieux… you name it. Y’all are just missing out!
And then, back to math we went.
But here’s the part that matters most:
✨ Every day, I can look around my classroom and see the students who aren’t as fortunate. The ones who don’t have a choice but to rotate the same few outfits week after week. And I’ll be cursed before I let those kids feel “less than” just because their clothes came secondhand.
✨ I’ve been broke before—I know what it’s like to dig through the couch cushions for change and live on ramen until payday. But I’m better because of it.
✨ My health has taken a hard hit lately, and I started this year with a not-so-great diagnosis. If you think fashion is anywhere near the top of my priorities right now, you’re out of your mind.
✨ Labels do not define you. Character does. If your worth is wrapped up in what’s stitched on your clothes instead of your grades, your kindness, or how you treat others—you’re setting yourself up for failure.
So please, parents—teach your kids humility. Life has a way of humbling us all eventually. And sometimes, that $3 Goodwill pullover might be the very thing that keeps you warm.
Credit: Allison Hicks
