Life is more than the bag you carry
A few years ago， for my 25th birthday， I got a Coach bag as a gift， and it was a big deal. Designer bags are status symbols， of course. "Your whole life is in your handbag." Says Rachel Murphy， 28， a freelance writer. "It says a lot about you. [A higher-end beg] does the same thing as a bag at Wal-mart does， but it represents financial freedom."
Daphne Cox was a little girl living in the projects when she saw that having a designer project bag meant you were successful. Now she has tow. "I bought my first Coach bag simply because of that-I had arrived，" says Daphne.
Daphne got her second bag， another Coach， as a gift. By then she realized a bag didn't really equate to success， and she couldn't even tell a real one from a fake. Now she views designer bags as more of an indulgence than a sense of accomplishment.
So to all you college fashionistas eating Ramen noodles to same up for hat must-have bag， I feel your pain-but don't end up chasing purses. Even a $100 bag is real money-two tanks of gas， maybe-especially at a time when we're all dealing with inflated fuel process and a shaky economy.
A bag should be a well-deserved treat. One day I hope to own just one Louis Vuitton， on that is a small and affordable but I'm never going to be the kind of woman who fills her closet with tons of luxury brands. I still carry Hello Kitty purses and no-name clutches， and put plastic jewelry on my wrist and around my neck.
A bag doesn't make you different from what you were yesterday. But they sure are pretty.
Word
A big deal （idiom） a subject， situation or event which someone thinks is important
Status symbols （n phr） and thing which people want to have
Freelance writer （n phr） a person who writes independently， usually for various organizations rather than as an employee of a particular one.
The projects （ n phr pl） a group of house or apartments， usually provided by the government for families that have very low incomes
Indulgence （n） something enjoyable， especially more than is needed
Fashionistas （n） a person who closely follows the high-fashion industry
A few years ago， for my 25th birthday， I got a Coach bag as a gift， and it was a big deal. Designer bags are status symbols， of course. "Your whole life is in your handbag." Says Rachel Murphy， 28， a freelance writer. "It says a lot about you. [A higher-end beg] does the same thing as a bag at Wal-mart does， but it represents financial freedom."
Daphne Cox was a little girl living in the projects when she saw that having a designer project bag meant you were successful. Now she has tow. "I bought my first Coach bag simply because of that-I had arrived，" says Daphne.
Daphne got her second bag， another Coach， as a gift. By then she realized a bag didn't really equate to success， and she couldn't even tell a real one from a fake. Now she views designer bags as more of an indulgence than a sense of accomplishment.
So to all you college fashionistas eating Ramen noodles to same up for hat must-have bag， I feel your pain-but don't end up chasing purses. Even a $100 bag is real money-two tanks of gas， maybe-especially at a time when we're all dealing with inflated fuel process and a shaky economy.
A bag should be a well-deserved treat. One day I hope to own just one Louis Vuitton， on that is a small and affordable but I'm never going to be the kind of woman who fills her closet with tons of luxury brands. I still carry Hello Kitty purses and no-name clutches， and put plastic jewelry on my wrist and around my neck.
A bag doesn't make you different from what you were yesterday. But they sure are pretty.
Word
A big deal （idiom） a subject， situation or event which someone thinks is important
Status symbols （n phr） and thing which people want to have
Freelance writer （n phr） a person who writes independently， usually for various organizations rather than as an employee of a particular one.
The projects （ n phr pl） a group of house or apartments， usually provided by the government for families that have very low incomes
Indulgence （n） something enjoyable， especially more than is needed
Fashionistas （n） a person who closely follows the high-fashion industry