Want vs Need

There is a fine line between want and need that your parents most likely explained to you when you were young. If not, want is something that adds to your life, while need is something that allows you to survive. My parents taught me this when I was very young. They used the more common examples of clothes instead of toys, healthy food instead of junk food, and that a roof over your head was more important than what the house looked like or how big it was. The song You Can’t Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones explains the difference between want and need better than any other, and relates to many of my life experiences.

The first Christmas that I can remember, was the Christmas of clothing. I got so many clothes that I almost wanted to stop opening presents and just watch other people open theirs. My parents, on the other hand, were ecstatic that I was getting clothes. It meant that they wouldn’t be burdened with the task of going shopping and spending ungodly amounts of money on clothes that I would grow out of the next year. Although the clothes were a necessity, I wanted toys, especially matchbox cars, those were my favorite. Unfortunately for me I received one or two cars. Nevertheless, I was forced to mind my manners and say thank you to my relatives for the piles of clothes that I never asked for. My parents later told me that clothes were what I needed, and that I didn’t need matchbox cars to live.

Another scenario that unraveled before me was at the grocery store. My mother and I were pacing back and forth, up and down the cereal aisle when I laid eyes upon a box of Lucky Charms. My uncle on Long Island always had a craving for Lucky Charms and earlier in the year he had snuck me a bowl of them for breakfast. I was amazed that cereal, of all things, could taste so good, and when I saw them in the store I begged my mom to get them. She thought for a moment and then taught me a valuable lesson. Pointing at the price shown on the shelf she said,

“It’s $5.99 for a 13 ounce box of Lucky Charms!”, with exasperation.

“The 18 ounce, family size box of Cheerios, is $3.99!”, staring me straight in the eyes.

“There is no reason to spend extra money on less food, when Cheerios are better for you and are more filling!”

I wasn’t very happy with my mother’s decision to buy Cheerios instead of Lucky Charms, but later when I went to the store myself, with my own money, I remembered to check the prices, and sure enough I walked to the cashier with Cheerios instead of a more expensive box of cereal. I had learned that just because you really, really want something, for whatever reason, doesn’t mean that you need to have it. It should be saved for a special occasion, and shouldn’t become an everyday necessity.

The song You Can’t Always Get What You Want contains other lyrics that also relate to my experiences. “You get what you need” is another part of the song that connects to the after effects of heartbreaking stories similar to my own, where you don’t get what you want, but you tried, and you end up with what you need. The verses of the song are micro narratives parallel to my narratives and show instances where people don’t get what they want from life.

If you think hard, this paper in itself is a wonderful representation of the battle of want and need. I didn’t want to go into school, the first day after a huge break, and get assigned a narrative paper assignment, especially one due in two days. I wanted to start a new book and quickly get back into the repetition of nightly reading and class discussion, but instead I got the opportunity to better myself as a writer through an engaging narrative that will be necessary for not only my grade in June, but for my continued growth as a young writer.

In a way, this is a somewhat depressing song. People don’t get what they want. On the other hand, it is a very positive song in the sense that your life, at 17 years old, has really yet to begin, and that I need so many things to get what I want in my later life experiences.