Experiencer / Achiever

After taking the VALS Survey I received results that I fit perfectly within the life-style of an achiever or an experiencer. While reading through the information I was confused as to why I fit into this category, and then I remembered and thought about all of the things that surround me in my everyday life and realized I fit. Also, I thought more specifically in regards to the way I live my life instead of only the things that are within my surrounding environment and I began to pull out specific examples of why it's a perfect fit for me to be in both of these categories.

EXPERIENCER - From the VALS Survey I interpretted the experiencer category with an inpulse consumer and someone that takes risk when making purchases. The survey results were proven correct with me and to prove it I'll give an example. I never usually buy movies, but the other day while I was in Target I noticed the movie Iron Man 2 on one of the movie stands int he entertainment section. Usually I will walk right by and just take a glance at it, but I remembered how much I liked the movie in theaters and just bought it right about. It was weird but I just bought it. No reason, it was jsut inpulse.

As for the risk factor I usually do not buy anything that is very expensive and I always second second my purchases. I did buy an expensive pair of sneaker the other day when a 20 dollar pair from Wal-Mart could've done the job just as well. Although I knew I wanted these shoes and did not have a problem purchasing them. Kind of a risk, but when payday happened Friday, I knew I was all set and could purchase them.

ACHIEVER - As an achiever I find myself commited to not only my life, self, and long term goals but to my family. I think this statement just about hits the nail on the head when I think about myself. Everyday I talk to my family and fill them in on new things happening in my life and they tell my about theirs. Every weekend I go to either my brother's Football game or my sister's Rugby game, or both, to support them, and every holiday I spend it with both sides of my family to have fun and catch up on everyone's lives. Family surrounds me everyday and I don't think I would change that for the world.

More information about an achiver states that they set long term goals for themselves. I thought hard about this and thought that I didn't fit this category very well cause I make plans revolving around things I need to get done that day, but then I remembered back to Freshman year. During my first semester of my Freshman year I planned out my entire college schedule as to what classes I would take each semester. Since then I have revised my schedule, but not until I decided to add my second major this year.

Life needs to be planned out but spontanteity is always a good thing to have. I think that the results from the VALS Survey are pretty accurate, and I fit perfectly within the categories "Experiencer and Achiever."

Why didn't I write about this the first time...

09 - Big Fish, Small Pond

The first time I looked at PRIZM's I never thought you could associate myself with the "Big Fish, Small Pond" PRIZM because one of the major things they talk about, is that people who are associated with this PRIZM typically live without children. I always dismissed myself and my family from fitting within this category because there are three children within my household.

After thinking about it, I realized that currently, only my parents are living at my house because all of my siblings and myself are away at college. Then reading through the description it pretty much described my parents and the way my household is now. Buying stuff from LL Bean, Upscale, my parents' ages are within the description, and they are homeowners.

The only reason I disregarded  this was for the lack of children within the household but after thoroughly thinking through it I realized there was more to the PRIZM than just that. I just didn't take the time to think through it.

PRIZM Cluster

What's my PRIZM look like....

Town and Country - I would say my family and myself are definitely part of the Town and Country part of America, in that we live no where near a city.

To descirbe which PRIZM I belong to, I used a lot of information from my mom. Since all of my siblings and I are in college I did not know whether to call my home an "empty-nest" or not. In the end I spoke with my mom and she told me that yes it is an empty-nest but there isn't a week that goes by where my parents do not see one of us. In that case, I chose to say that my PRIZM is either Kids & Cul-de-Sacs or Fast Track Families.

Mostly I related my family to Fast Track Families because we are always on the go. It says that parents are now leaning towards "buying the latest technology with impunity." Just recently I talked with my mom and she was telling me all about her iPad that she just bought, and the Roomba Vacuum that cleans the house on it's on. Then my dad said that they just installed a new irrigation system in our yard and they are looking to buy new cars. It's amazing that once your youngest child goes to college they spend more time with electronics, but when we asked them to play games with us in prior years they would say "no electronics run peoples lives." Funny how that turned out Mom and Dad.

Aside from that I have also classified ourselves at the Young Accomodators. This is the second tier on the cake where you are not the wealthy snob at the top that flaunts their money, nor the less affluent tiers on the bottom two levels. It's a good median point, and proves to satisfy my PRIZM perfectly.

This exercise was interesting, but I did not enjoy it so much. It gets a little too personal and I find it difficult to want to put information about my family on here that proves our family status and economic status.

Thinking outside the box today?

Ever own a pair of Crocs? Don't diss them unless you have. Coming to college I had owned a pair of Crocs, but I did not want to wear them because I was afraid of what people might say. Ya, they talked shit about them, but once I began wearing them everywhere people began noticing them as a possession that identified me.

At first my dad was the one to be the most against them. That is until he owned a pair himself and now you'll never go two days without seeing us wear our Crocs. Everyday I put my Crocs on to walk down the hall or go the bathroom or even go to meetings and to class. Of course I know when to not wear them and when it is necessary to wear them.

I will admit that they do look stupid, but they are the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever own. Not only so I have to original pair of Crocs that look like half shoes with holes in them, but I also have a pari of Croc flip flops that I wear as shower shoes and a pair of Croc boots that have never EVER let my feet get wet or cold in the winter.

It's not like I walk around telling people that I wear Crocs, but they are so absurd that everyone seems to notice them everytime I wear them and they call me out on it. Since I have had them more than two years now I laugh when people make fun of me for them, but my feet have never smelled and they have always been comfortable. Even when it rains my feet don't get wet unless I blantantly step into a puddle.

So the next time you pass someone and they are wearing Crocs, acknowledge them and make them know you saw their Crocs. We wear them for attention and because they are different. You know how I know they're different. Let me tell you a little story. Last year I went to do homework and watch TV in GHH and there happened to be many people in the room. Croc came on a commercial and a whole big discussion started. Unbeknownst to myself, I was wearing a pair of Crocs and a girl in the room freaked out. She got so excited and ended up taking a picture with my Crocs. Her professor that she had earlier that day got in a heated discussion with a student, stating that there is not a single person on this campus that wears Crocs because we are all afraid to be individualists. To tell you the truth, I have not seen one other person to wear Crocs and it makes me just that much more proud to wear my Crocies everyday. In the end the girl got extra credit on her exam and it was all because I wasn't afraid to do something outside the box and wear my Crocs.

To this day I will swear by my Crocs and say they are the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever own. So if anyone is thinking about wearing a pair of Crocs, let me know. I'll back you up in a heartbeat and wear them with you to help you out.