I’ll never forget the Christmas I joined the ranks as a consumer.

For months I had been bombarding my parents with the request for a heavily advertised doll, promising that if I had the doll, I would play like Andy from Toy Story.

As I ripped off the paper, and discovered the coveted plaything underneath, I remember about two seconds of bliss. I had succeeded in my drive for the toy.

Those two seconds were followed by months of envy, as I moved on to wish that I had asked for the presents that my siblings had received.

My doll sat all-but-forgotten, collecting dust under my bed.

As this new round of bombardment to my parents began, the consumerist within me was born.

Now, whenever I see a parent fold to their whiny child in the checkout line, I shudder a little to myself.

There goes a new consumerist set on the world.

And whenever I give in to my own inward justification of ‘I needed that,’ I quiver at my own weakness. Yet another old hand at consumerism.

I frequently find myself disgusted at the way buying useless items is ingrained in us from the time we are children.

Santa Claus brings us toys we will outgrow in six months. Friends present us with candles that smell like cotton candy, which we will never burn.

And stores give us special offers on items we don’t even know the uses of.

What compels us to consume? Do we need all the things we buy?

Today, Nov. 27, marks Black Friday, a day with a long history of being one of the biggest shopping days of the year – especially in the U.S. – thereby putting stores in “the black.”

A day devoted to consumerism.

Chaos ensues when stores open on the Friday following American Thanksgiving.

Last year, a Wal-Mart employee in Long Island, N.Y. was trampled to death by the crowds of shoppers entering the store in a frenzy at 5 a.m., a sad way to christen the day beyond its usual meaning.

However, Nov. 27 – or Nov. 28 overseas – also marks the international movement called Buy Nothing Day (BND).

The campaign began in 1992 in Vancouver as a way to open the eyes of consumers and informally protest the over-consumption that our society typically indulges in.

Since then, it has become a worldwide event.

Characteristic BND actions include cutting up credit cards, walking up and down store aisles in a procession with empty shopping carts, and hawking nothing to passersby to raise awareness.

This year, the event has morphed into a call for even greater change and less consumption, as organizers hope to get participants to turn off appliances, lights and televisions, and opt to go outside; showing how much we consume without setting a foot out the door of our homes.

However, I’ll be honest.

The temptation for me to get a jump on Christmas shopping and save some money at the same time is enticing. Who wouldn’t want to buy things at insanely good prices?

But as the sales – and subsequent madness – get underway, BND offers us all a chance to reflect on the difference between need and want.

Do you need to get a new mp3 player because it has better features than your current one?

Does your son need the remote-control car he’s been hinting at, even though he has cars-aplenty in the toy box?

For myself, I won’t be found at a sale, in a store or at the mall today.

The choice is yours.

Where will you be?

Emily Bruins is a fourth-year journalism student and Peace Arch News intern.