Panic Attack in Gucci

One of the most stressful situations that I have ever been in occurred at the Gucci store in Florence. Before I get into why that is, I will tell you why I was there to begin with. Over winter break, my old wallet finally fell apart as I dropped it in a puddle. Knowing that I needed to get one while I was abroad, I decided that this would be the “big purchase” I would make for myself on the trip. As I walked through the streets of Florence I came across the Gucci store with my friends. We went for a look and I fell in love with this simple black leather wallet. Why did I fall in love with this wallet? Not because it stood out or was anything special, but because I am a sucker for the brand name. As I held it and had the clerk do his best sales pitch to me, I could not get myself to buy it. However, my friends thought it was really cool as well and did their best to convince me. I wanted it bad, but I did not know if I could afford it. My hands nervously pulled out my phone to check my bank account. It took me a minute to get access because my hands were shaking so bad to the point where I struggled to type in my password. As I got to my account, I realized that I could buy it, but it would definitely leave a dent in the account. I held the wallet and stared at it for a minute or so. Then, without thinking, I told the clerk I will buy it. He saw how hard of a purchase it was for me and makes me sit and even offers me a drink. I must have looked like I made the biggest decision of my life. Not being that big of a shopper to begin with, this experience made me understand the addiction some people have to shopping. When making big purchases, your heart races and it leaves you in an altered mental state seeing all that money leave your account for something so small.