Florida men are few and far between, roaming around with their own special agendas, bravery and amusing stupidity. Their tales of crazy stories never fail to bring in that little spice in life we need to read about, so much so that there was even a trend of looking up your birthday date followed by “florida man” to see what impossible story a Florida man managed to bring to life. These unhinged men have truly coined “Florida men” as their own breed of men; men who- faced even by forces of brute nature– are unmoved.

You think that was an overstatement? That’s cute.

There truly were thousands of Florida men who in the impending doom of Hurricane Irma, planned to shoot down the force of nature. This stemmed from a facebook event advertisement and gained so much traction that a Sheriff’s Office had to tweet a warning that their plan to turn the hurricane around would be useless and dangerous.

Bearing arms in front of storms isn’t the only way Florida men fight their way through life. Some use fried chicken. Back in 2018, a man was arrested for throwing fried chicken at his girlfriend.

“The 6’2″, 220-pound Florida Man stepped on the woman’s foot and “threw a piece of chicken at the victim, striking her in the left side of her face and glasses'' according to a police report collected by The Smoking Gun.” (wtfflorida.com) There seems to be a running theme of Florida men getting arrested for throwing food at people since on a wonderful October day, a 22-year old man threw a hissy fit and threw freshly cooked sausages at his mother. No, context will not be given.

Many households lost their jobs due to Covid-19 and couldn’t afford new clothes, so shopping at thrift stores was a smart resort. This was a difficult change for most people, since donated clothes are usually out-dated or damaged in some way. But everyone adapts to their situation, so instead of searching for nice articles, upcyclers focus on fabric. Any cute or good quality fabric can be upcycled into something fashionable. Now people could shop at a fair price before going home to work on their new, fun hobby. Personally, upcycling is a new hobby for me. I’ve been using a sewing machine my whole life, but I mostly used it to make small repairs to my clothes or I’d make new articles from patterns. The idea of upcycling wasn’t brought to my attention until I’d started thrifting too, and would be constantly disappointed by the wrong sizes. At one point I gave in and bought a shirt that was way too big for me, but when I showed it to a family member, they suggested I could take in the waist and leave the low-cut to upcycle it into a cute summer top. That was a great success for me, so for the past year or so, I’ve preferred simple upcycling over any other sewing projects. That one project opened my eyes to all the benefits this hobby provides. Obviously, it’s extremely cheaper than regular clothes shopping. At some thrift shops, you can pay by the pound, so you get plenty of pieces for only a couple dollars. This has a great effect on the environment because it reduces waste by saving materials from landfills and minimizes using natural resources. It also reduces manufacturing costs for large corporations.

The art of upcycling can be taken in by anyone. You don’t need to be an old lady who wants to cover her ankles, or a high class fashion designer, or even have experience with a sewing machine. Try starting small by using your hands to sew with a single needle and thread. Once you’ve mastered that process, you’ll be prepared to take on mostly any upcycling projects. Asking someone for guidance or watching a tutorial are useful support systems that everyone utilizes, so don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Remember this is a personal activity that most people greatly enjoy.

Upcycling is easier than most sewing projects and will produce the same satisfying results.

Plus it helps the rest of the world in its own small ways. If you’re interested, don’t be hesitant to give it a chance! You never know what you might create.