Everyone has a Canada Goose jacket and the Marc Jacobs tote, or at least everyone on Instagram who must be so much happier than you do. They go to Cancún for spring break and travel through Europe in the summer. Olivia Rodrigo said it best “All your friends are so cool, you go out every night in your daddy’s nice car, yeah, you’re livin’ the life.” Their luxury is loud, glamorous, and notoriously unavailable to the quiet sector of broke college students at a wealthy school and city.
Sunbathing on university rooftops is a classic once the weather gets warmer. On a sneaky 70º February day, I would climb several flights of stairs to reach the top of my now former sorority’s building just to lay across a chair, sunglasses on, shiver a bit when the breeze pushes the clouds in front of the sun, and listen to an album I’ve been meaning to play for ages. Sometimes, I’d bring a bowl of grapes; other times, I’d splurge $7 on brie and crackers at Safeway. Rooftops on campus can be found at Mitchell and E Street, but there are spectacular views from the Kennedy Center and the east building of the National Gallery of Art. Anything feels infinitely more intimate above ground– fire escapes are another source of this. They’re perfect for a midday reading break or a late-night smoke above Square 80, but beware of the strange looks you get from onlookers who don’t consider this a possibility. Falling into a monotonous routine is easy, but any surface is yours for the taking.
Going out is tricky. Drinks are expensive, and Ubers are worse. However, pregaming is cheap, and the bus is free. I talk to girls who are startled at the idea of taking a bus on their Friday nights out, but it’s a much more delightful indulgence than many would assume. The Washington Monument shines against the sky, and you may not see any stars, but there’s at least a twinkle in streetlights and restaurant windows. There’s luxury in car service, but there’s a sneakier luxury in touring your city tipsy in bus seats with a posse of your favorite people. Likewise, there’s nothing more palatial than the castle of friends you meet at your favorite bars. Get to know the bouncers, the bartenders, the visiting DJ– this is the cast of your night. Learn names, share moments, and shoo away weird men. There’s a certain richness that can only be found in the love you share with strangers.
Finding these sneaky luxuries is barely romanticization because it’s all very real. The sun is yours, the grapes are ripe, the city is gorgeous. Teddy Roosevelt said that “comparison is the thief of joy”, but he had no chance at predicting the modern comparison economy found through social media. Cosmetics and clothing brands and the skincare industry rely on women feeling inferior to each other to turn a profit. These industries want us to feel like we have no luxury in our lives to ensure we spend our money on their products instead. Truthfully, there is a luxury in indulging your senses in moments that costs rather little. We may not be written about in Vogue for being “high-brow” or “chic” or the heiresses of billionaires, but we can feel opulent in our gratitude for what we have.