My Favorite Shirt | Teen Ink

My Favorite Shirt MAG

January 19, 2008
By Anonymous

Love. It’s a simple but overused word. I love you. I love this song! I absolutely loved that movie! The word doesn’t mean much anymore, not to most. Some people scoff at it. We throw it around like a used shirt, wearing it because it’s comfortable, safe, and secure, but never truly understanding why we have it. We lend it out, forget about it, and years later, we think, “Hey, I really liked that shirt.”

But do we care? No. It’s probably gone now, thrown away because of a rip or sold for $3 at a garage sale. We forget; it doesn’t matter after that.

Then we see the world fall apart. From the safety of our living rooms we watch amateur video on the news or Internet, and sometimes we feel so helpless and alone we’re not sure what to do. We cry for the inhumanity, scream for the injustice, and wonder why the world is this way. We think we can change the world; we know we want to help those who need it most … then we remember that T-shirt we threw out years ago.

We want it back; we fight and scramble for it. We go out and buy new shirts, try them on, but none seems to fit. We’ve lost it – we’ve lost love. We are unnerved for a bit; we sit alone and beat ourselves up for letting it go. Then we just we shrug it off. We say, “I’ll do it later” or “I’m too busy.” I’m guilty of it too: “I don’t have the right resources” or “I’m too young” or “No one will care.” And it seems as if no one does. With high school students only bent on the next party or who’s dating whom, you wonder if, in the end, their shirts were ever worn.

Is my generation going to save the world? We try, a small group of us, but our shirts are faded among the bright colors of greed and the everyday and the wanting. We are pushed into the background. We try to push our way through the crowds, and we truly wonder: where has the love gone?

I don’t want my love to fade; though my shirt is tattered and worn, I wear it daily. I am honest and open, and when I say that simple, dead, four-letter word, I mean it. I know I’ve made mistakes with it in the past and I almost threw my shirt away; I carry it carefully now. It’s close to my heart, where it’s meant to be. I do lend it out every once in a while – I let those who need it try it on and feel the safety that I feel. I leave them pieces when I go, but my shirt never seems to tear. It stays just as simple as it ever was.

When the time comes, I will stand alone in this world and stare into the eyes of those with the shirts of greed and want and lust, and I will know that even though mine is not the most beautiful shirt in the crowd, it’s among the best.



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This article has 258 comments.


on Jan. 12 2011 at 2:27 pm
marzapan PLATINUM, Westchester, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
"do not lead me unto temptation, i can find the way my self" rita brown
"die fish Hitler die" jake: homestuck
"My only friend growing up was a yak." -Russia (Hetalia)
"Pants are your first priority." -My friend

it is one of the most heartfelt, and absolutly true things i have ever read, it was butiful, i just hope that  your worn shirt, mine will never be thrown away or torn 

jaineba BRONZE said...
on Jan. 10 2011 at 11:53 pm
jaineba BRONZE, Brooklyn, New York
4 articles 1 photo 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
sit like a turtle, walk like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.

Life is fun.
let your mind flow like water, reflect like glass and respond like an echo

this is a beautiful essay , that i have fallen in luv with :)

on Jan. 7 2011 at 6:07 pm
Finding-me PLATINUM, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
45 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
It's kind of fun to do the impossible

Impressive. It was moving. thanks.

on Dec. 31 2010 at 3:00 pm
Cuppie.Cake DIAMOND,
80 articles 0 photos 41 comments

Favorite Quote:
\"I\'m Not Afraid To Take A Stand, Everybody Come Take My Hand.\"
~Eminem~
\"I Just Want You To Know, That You Deserve The Best, You\'re Beautiful.\"
~Lil\' Wayne~
\"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. What do we do...we swim swim swim.\"
~Finding No~

I think the word LOVE is the most irresponsibly used word ever...

SarahBelle said...
on Dec. 27 2010 at 4:53 pm
SarahBelle, White Bluff, Tennessee
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It's like a little piece of Canada in the middle of Virginia"

The "stains" of lost loves, or crushes, or others in our life will always heal. I know it probably won't matter to you that I'm saying this, but trust me. Trust that I've lost everything and everyone, and almost my life, but recovered and have now found peace. Stay strong, and bless you.

on Dec. 21 2010 at 3:20 pm
cantabile BRONZE, Boerne, Texas
1 article 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We walk by faith not by sight" 2 Corrinthians 5:7
Let it come to you

wow. That was great! I don't know what to say because the story has taken the words away.

on Dec. 21 2010 at 11:42 am
ToRemember SILVER, Somersworth, New Hampshire
6 articles 1 photo 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
dont ever tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon.

this was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! great great great job i now exactly what you mean and i completely agree, no wonder this was published.

on Dec. 20 2010 at 8:18 pm
skoppy355 BRONZE, Arlington Heights, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life's like an hourglass glued to the table- from Breathe (2 am) by Anna Nalick

All I can say is wow!  I'm so impressed by this piece, it's exactly what everyone needs to hear.

on Dec. 18 2010 at 8:42 pm
blank_pages BRONZE, Moore, Oklahoma
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

I think it's time for me to go shopping for a shirt like yours! :)

Really though, that was amazing! Exactly what the world needs to hear.


USCG13 BRONZE said...
on Dec. 18 2010 at 8:10 pm
USCG13 BRONZE, Los Alamos, New Mexico
2 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"their like lil' sponges"!!!!

don't be lazy its spelled great

on Dec. 17 2010 at 1:17 pm
PookieBaby_x3, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
iAgree ^^ what do you do then ?

Smiley said...
on Dec. 17 2010 at 9:27 am
That was gr8!!!!!!!!!!!!

on Dec. 14 2010 at 5:53 am
Open_5hoelaces BRONZE, Vadodra, Other
4 articles 0 photos 15 comments
I like that same old T-shirt too.

on Dec. 10 2010 at 10:52 pm
bluegirl440 DIAMOND, Park City, Utah
84 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everybody lies. -House

This is incredibly powerful goo job.

on Dec. 8 2010 at 7:32 pm
ravenwing92 DIAMOND, Eastlake, Ohio
57 articles 105 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
Way too many. I have a quotebook on facebook in my notes. It contains quotes from the Bible, myself, and others. ^_^

Beautiful. Keep holding onto that t-shirt, no matter what the costs. May you be blessed always, girl :)

ALLABOUTME19 said...
on Dec. 6 2010 at 11:04 am
YES I SO LOVE THIS ARTICLE IT TELLS THE MAIN THINGS ABOUT WAT KIDS RELLY NEED TO HEAR

on Dec. 4 2010 at 6:51 pm
DawnMarie BRONZE, Milton, Florida
2 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
a bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song. - lou holtz

Helpless love pieces? Read it, and you'll see that it's far from helpless. Kay? (: 

on Dec. 4 2010 at 6:50 pm
DawnMarie BRONZE, Milton, Florida
2 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
a bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song. - lou holtz

Amazing. I don't think you care, but you are gonna go far with writing skills like that. Job well done :) 

MRose911 GOLD said...
on Nov. 30 2010 at 7:48 pm
MRose911 GOLD, Paradise, Utah
17 articles 10 photos 107 comments

Favorite Quote:
"No boy is worth crying over and the one who is won't make you cry." - Sarah Kane

That was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Amazing..... Wow. Amazing.

on Nov. 29 2010 at 1:11 pm
bennyB PLATINUM, Memphis, Tennessee
26 articles 0 photos 63 comments
I am tired of all of these helpless love piecess and there is onely one thinhg to say  god is love