The attraction of FREE

Why is it no matter how much money you make, no matter where you come from, FREE is so irresistible? I got back last night from a two day trip to Harrisburg for a student nurse convention. We left at, no, before the crack of dawn Thursday morning and made our to the lovely capital of PA. Through the course of the convention we talked about our future involvement in the medical field, heard motivational speakers, and addressed the formal business of resolutions and elections. But the part of the convention that really got everyone excited was talking to recruiters and collecting free stuff. We came home with bags of chapsticks, pens, hand sanitizers, blankets, alarm clocks, key chains, calculators, water bottles, etc. Now lately I've really been working on simplifying my life. I realize I'm much happier without quite so much STUFF. But this weekend I failed miserably. I accumulated. And while I'm pretty stoked to have a new stock of pens and think the keychain hand sanitizers and chapsticks are pretty cool, I definitely came home stuff I'll probably never use and surely don't need simply because I didn't have to pay for it. Shall I show you my loot? Kind of ridiculous huh? In addition to my collecting, it was nice to talk to recruiters and hospital reps. Admittedly it was a bit overwhelming since a simple smile had them trying to sell me on why I should come work for their hospital. How insane to go from graduating with no clue what job my degree even worked for to having employers selling themselves to me. Still, it's a role reversal I'll gladly take.