sparking joy
By Sam Stakolich
Spring | 2019
BGSU students share what items
they cherish at college
The Netflix series “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” asks viewers to consider what items in their life spark joy. Many people, including BGSU students, have found the show helpful in finding items in their lives that spark joy.
The show chronicles famous organizing consultant Marie Kondo as she travels to various American homes to help them tidy up.
Marie Kondo has devoted her life to helping people declutter and organize.
Her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” has topped best-seller charts since 2011 and her fame has shifted to the television world.
Her approach to organizing, called the KonMari Method, challenges people to purge items that don’t intentionally spark joy in their lives. Through her method, Kondo differentiates between these joy-sparking items and those that can just be thrown to the wayside. She offers more than just
organization and sets out to truly create a deeper meaning and connection between people and their possessions. BGSU students seemed to have developed that connection with many of their items.
For Libby Calland, a junior healthcare administration major, that item is her jean jacket, which she wears all the time.
“My mom bought it for me while we were shopping one time. It was kind of a gift,” she said. “It’s because it makes me think of the fun activities my mom and I do. Shopping is our favorite thing to do together.”
Alex Ball, a junior business major, said his favorite clothing item is fuzzy socks, which like Calland, he received as a gift.
“My grandma got them for me, and they’re really warm,” he said. “I think of her when I wear them.”
The clothing item that sparks joy for Emily Wiesenmayer, a sophomore TLEP major was a gift, but it wasn’t new. Her dad gave her his Ohio State crewneck. “It was my dad’s when he was in college,” she said.
“It’s oversized and comfy and when I wear it I think of him.”
The meaning behind the shirt is not lost on Wiesenmayer.
“He wore it when he was my age, and it was passed down to me, and now I wear it in my college years,” she said.
For Robert Bierman, a junior marketing major, the joy his Gucci belt sparks is tied to the hard work that went into getting it.
“I bought it with the money I earned at Nordstrom over winter break and I never worked toward something like I have for this belt,” he said. “It makes me feel luxurious.”
Not clothing, but a teddy bear, Christian, sparks joy for Kellie Korzunowski, a junior exercise science major.
“He isn’t really clothing, but he’s something I’ve had for most of my life,” she said. “I built him at my birthday party when I was four. I have him here at college, and he’s traveled with me everywhere.”
