I am stuck in the dark closet, feeling alone despite the nonexistent space between the clothes that are jammed together like sardines in a can. I am shoved to the back of the closet above a random pair of shoes you have not worn in a year, collecting dust.

Each day, it is rejection station. I can feel the morning light shining on me, reflecting from your questing fingers. Try as I might to reach you, yet your fingers pick another so I enjoy the brief respite from the dark and cold before Ithe plunge back into the shadows.

I wish I was trendy and new. I want to be like those other clothes you wear all the time, something useful to you. I know I am not that special compared to your prom dress or popular like the blue Champion hoodie next to me but I am here; I wish you would see past what I lack. 

“Do you know I am here?” I can not help but ask myself. 

It is like I am invisible to you. The indifference in your eyes as they look past me to the next, always to something better than me, stings more than outright rejection.

I still remember the days when I was your first choice, when I was special to you and not this reject sitting here day in and day out. Singing to the world, I felt worthy in your eyes.You would wear me with a small smile and that is all I needed to have. 

Where did we go wrong? All I know is you stopped recognizing my worth but I still know I have potential. It is in the fingers that sewed me together, the hours of painstaking work that made me whole. 

I am endlessly discouraged by you to stop and see me. There is nothing I want more than for you to pause and hear my deep rooted frustration. 

“I wear all of my clothes though, there is just so much to do daily that I do not have time to make outfits”, you explain. 

I huff, “Then why buy so much, why waste your money and the resources that went into me?”

“You do not understand,” There is a heavy pause, “I am not trying to be wasteful on purpose, it just happens”

That is the issue: impulsive buying, purchasing without carefully weighing that choice to add to your closet. While you might not feel the impact of thoughtless buying, the environmental and mental impact is present. Having too many clothes leads to an overwhelming closet that has too many options even though you regret buying most of them.  A lot of personal and environmental stress can be reduced if you try to be more thoughtful about your purchases, andas I hope you start to realize the consequences of your brash actions. 

I was made to be worn, to have my moment in the sun. Instead, I have been kept in the dark, like an antique gaining dust in a museum. I am just another piece of clothing, wasting away like a relic of the past despite my functionality. It should not be this way, not only is it careless, it is squandering important resources like labor,water, and energy.

You can find a way to use me, just do not ignore me. Reuse or recycle me. Upcycle me into a new creation that would be more useful. Give me to the thrift store on the corner, someone there needs me more than you do. I am what you do not wear, but that does not mean I am not here.