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The Gift That Keeps Giving

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Rachel Labarre

Oh, the holidays.

A wonderful season filled with smiles, family time, gift giving, and extensive decorations placed across town in hopes of stirring even more of the holiday spirit.

However, for some, finding the absolutely perfect gift for the hard-to-please relative can put a damper on all the jingle joy.

This leads to the common yet very awkward process of regifting.

Regifting is when an individual gives someone else a gift that the gift giver had once received. It’s almost like hand-me-downs. And yes, the outcome can sometimes be as uncomfortable and degrading as it sounds.

“Receiving a present that used to be someone else’s made me feel unimportant, and made me feel differently about the person who gave me the gift,” said Jane Levy ’16.

On the other hand, regifting can sometimes be the perfect solution to one’s holiday present dilemmas.

“I think people regift because the gift wasn’t a good fit for them, maybe because they didn’t know the giver well. So, whoever they decide to give it to might make a better receiver than they did. There’s nothing wrong with that!” said Taylor Jacobs ’14.

In other circumstances, regifting can be a family tradition or honor. For Lucas Jackson ’15, the gift he received was a special token within the family that has been passed down through the generations.

“In this case, I felt good because I felt honored to partake in a family tradition,” said Jackson.

Though the excuses span a wide variety, the most common reasons of why people regift over the holidays is that it saves time and money, and also delivers an unwanted gift to someone who can really appreciate its worth.

Overall, the attitude toward regifting seems to be skeptical, yet accepting that it is common, and appreciated in the long run.

“It’s the thought that counts,” said Quinn Mendelson ’13. “A secondhand toaster never hurt anyone.”

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About the Contributors
Bailey Valente, Sports Editor
Bailey Valente ’13 is the definition of a Superfan. She frequents the stands at Staples football games and watches ESPN over “Gossip Girl”. However, she never plays sports. Valente figures that if she can’t play the game, she might as well do the next best thing: contribute through journalism and her love of writing. After taking Intro to Journalism her sophomore year, she worked on the paper as a staff writer her junior year and is now a sports editor. Aside from sports, Valente’s interests also lie in helping others. Her love for volunteer work led to her being an active participant in the National Charity League, a non-required organization for students who would like to assist others and in their community. It is through NCL that she found out about the Caroline House inBridgeport,Conn., where Valente helps out every Thursday. She may be the one helping out others by tutoring local students in elementary level subjects, but Valente reaps the benefits as well. She feels the reward in her tutoring and enjoys seeing her work pay off when one of her students grasps a concept or gets a correct answer. “I love putting smiles on people’s faces,” she said.
Rachel Labarre, Managing Editor
She trades her pointe shoes in for her spiral notebook.  Her dance classes for journalism classes.  Her spot at the front of the stage for her position on the Inklings staff. Rachel Labarre '14 has the unique ability to allow the creativity and passion she has in the dance studio to influence her writing style and work ethic. This work ethic is what gives Labarre the edge it takes to hold one of the most prestigious spots on the Inklings staff: Managing Editor. But what got her there? Labarre’s first claim to fame was her dance career, but there was one thing holding her back. “On top of the problems with my feet that I already had, I broke my foot during dress rehearsal for our big recital,” Labarre said. This forced Labarre to cut back on dance classes the following year.  All the energy and creativity that was once put into nailing a routine needed an outlet.  She found this outlet through writing for Inklings. Labarre landed a job as an editor her sophomore year.  She then went from Editor of Arts and Entertainment to Features Editor.  Labarre’s inventiveness has allowed her to climb the steps to the top of Inklings. “When you write there’s a certain part that requires creativity; whether it’s getting a good angle or keeping your readers engaged.  You have to do the same in dance; whether it’s perfecting the choreography or figuring out what will look the most atheistically pleasing” Labarre  said.  She was able to prove this ability in her article on the Sandy Hook shooting, which got over 50,000 hits.  This passion for the arts and creativity has not only led LaBarre to success on the stage, but in the classroom as well.  

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