On the morning of Friday, November 25, otherwise known as Black Friday, The Washington Post reported that 151 million Americans will be at the store, in lines, and barely awake on the sweet salvation of caffeine. These deal-hungry people will be shopping until they drop and taking away the meaning of the holiday celebrated the day before, Thanksgiving. Though the people don’t realize the damage being done, the workers in these stores can’t fully enjoy time spent with their family on Thanksgiving, which is neither kind nor fair. Black Friday needs to stop.

Everyone is always looking for a chance to be the change they want to see in  the world and here’s the opportunity. For starters, people can make a conscious choice to be the difference they want to see in the world with regard to Black Friday. They can choose to go out and be active instead of standing around all day, and that’s exactly the idea behind #OptOutside. Sponsored by REI, #OptOutside is a nationwide movement that encourages people to go out and be thankful for the outdoors on Black Friday. Already 1,820,469 people have already pledged to #OptOutside. Participants can enter their city into a search engine online, and find something that would interest them, such as beautiful paths to go mountain biking on or scenic skiing spots. Once they select the activity , REI encourages members of the movement to post a picture online of their activity with the hashtag “#OptOutside.” This will not only pass the word along, but maybe shed some light on the problems that so many people fail to notice.

Though #OptOutside is a great choice, there are so many things out there that one can do to avoid the hustle and bustle of shopping on November 25th. So the American people need to go out there and find something that they can do to make the little difference in one worker’s life.