If I Die My Sneakers Are Coming With Me
This piece is a playful but honest reflection on overconsumption, identity, and what we’re really chasing.
The hype, the limited editions, the adrenaline rush when a new drop is announced - it’s exciting, but it’s also exhausting.
And here’s the truth: they’ve built it that way on purpose.
Consumer marketing is designed to make your nervous system spike, to activate urgency, lack, and desire. “Limited edition.” “Sale - One day only.” “Almost sold out.” Sounds familiar? These are phrases made to pull you away from your center. To make you feel like you’ll miss something if you don’t buy right now. They trick you and say on the other side of that sale, is worthiness, confidence, or even belonging. Surprise - it’s not.
Because after the rush of getting the thing - whatever it is - there’s always the next thing. The next drop. The next version. The next sale. It’s a cycle that never ends. There will always be another drop. Another “must-have.” But the chase? You can opt out of that.
So that begs the question, what are we actually chasing?
The truth is, you’re already whole. You don’t need more to be enough. You don’t need the next version of anything to be. You get to slow down, soften your grip, and remember what’s real. What you’ve been searching for, whether that’s belonging, confidence, love, purpose - it’s not out there in an ‘add to cart’ or on a shelf. It’s within you.
Ground yourself.
You are not lost - you’re just distracted.
And the beautiful thing is: it’s always your choice to return.
“IF I DIE MY SNEAKERS ARE COMING WITH ME” Digital Illustration, 2025.
the moment that inspired this illustration:
This piece was born from my own reflection on shopping, impulse buying, overconsumption, and identity. I still like shopping and getting new things but I was at a point where I was buying things that didn’t fulfill me. I’m learning to be mindful of the why behind a purchase.
I’m not perfect, and this isn’t about judgment - it’s about noticing.
It’s about getting curious about what we’re chasing and whether it’s actually something we already carry within.
