Zhang Week 8 - Giving Gifts

One of my friends' birthday is coming up, and that means my whole friend group has been preoccupied with getting gifts. Of course, the most important thing about a present is the thought of the one who gives it, so we shouldn't worry as much as we are, but we can't help but always come back to the same question: "Will she like it?" I think the three most important things about a gift is if the receiver will like it, if it's a surprise, and if I like it (or at the very least find it tasteful). It sounds contradictory, but I think the more you know someone, the harder it is to give gifts, because while you know what they like, you also know their specific dislikes, and this makes a person feel like they need to be much more careful when buying gifts. Adding on to this problem, at our age, people tend to phase out of things pretty quickly, and if you've been busy and haven't talked on a daily basis, or if it simply never came up in the conversation, you would be completely unaware that your friend has stopped liking something she was obsessed about just a few weeks ago. I had completely planned out my friend's gift, and was about to get it, but luckily when I was talking to her the other day, she mentioned that she no longer likes the theme of the gift I was planning to give her. That brought another issue to the table. Since my previous plans did not work, I had to choose between buying a gift that she probably expects that she will (hopefully) like for sure, or selecting a gift that she would be surprised to receive, but maybe not enjoy as much. At this point I was pretty unsure of what to do, so I just decided to go the safe route and get her an item that I know she wants. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe the surprise factor of a gift shouldn't be that important since it probably gives more entertainment to the giver rather than the receiver. But maybe that varies person to person. I'm clearly not an expert at giving gifts, but I love seeing the reactions of my friends when they open presents, so I hope I get better at this over time. I know at the end of the day, gifts are just something that show you care, and no matter what, as long as the receiver can sense that, they will love what you got them. So, happy birthday to my friend (even though you probably won't see this blog), and I know you will like what we got you!