ORIGINAL

Most everyone would agree that $10,000 is a pretty good chunk of change, although to some that may be more significant than others. With that kind of cash you could buy a car, put a down payment on a house, pay off school loans or, for $10,000, you could get your hands on Patti the Platypus™, one of the original and rarest Beanie Babies.. I know, sounds like an absurd price for a stuffed animal.. until you see that Princess the Bear™ can be bought for $500,000. Similarly, sports memorabilia, iconic Hollywood cars and homes, timeless records, and so much more are sold for astronomical amounts of money year after year.

Do the people paying that money not realize they could find a replica for a literal fraction of the price? Nobody would be able to recognize a replica from the real thing. Why are people willing to pay incredible amounts of money for original copies, jerseys, trading cards, etc? Because value comes with originality. Whether it’s paintings, shoes or anything in between; the older and rarer, the more value it holds. 

The same is true for people, but we don’t live like that. People are treated by what they have, what they achieve, where they’re from, their accent, shape and color. As a result of being treated according to those metrics, people aim for those ideals; 2% body fat, investment property, new car, vacations - you name it. Consequently, when we ourselves meet or don’t meet the ideals we hold with high esteem, our evaluation of ourselves moves closer to that of a replica than an original. The saddest reality is manifested in those of us who have the highest evaluation of ourselves on the wrong metrics.

The truth is that your worth comes from this fact: You have been created as one of one by a Creator who couldn’t conceive a monetary value high enough for your life, so He exchanged the life of His Son for yours. Being original, or 1:1, is an idea adopted across many ideologies, which is interesting because many of those don’t adopt the ideology of the Creator. 

The original baseball jersey, trading card and Beanie Baby are more valuable because they are real. The replicas only came into existence because of the original, and they lose value because they aren’t the real thing. What part of you are you trying to replicate from something/someone else? What metrics are you using for evaluation of yourself and others? 

You are an original creation, with value beyond human comprehension. Are you living like it?

Choose it. Rep it. Live it. 

- Nick Waskom

Get the new original hoodie here