This assignment truthfully scared me a little at first, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it and found it to be really interesting – my own record and the one I analyzed. I do want to note how so often we are told always how we live in such a materialistic and consumerist society, which I don’t disagree with, but I honestly expected more refuse from myself and the sample I analyzed. After the first day of recording, I was definitely very aware of what I was throwing away and wondered how someone else would interpret it.  When I first looked at the sample I was analyzing, I didn’t think I would be able to guess as much about the person as I was able to, but a few items here and there definitely helped get a clearer picture, from papers to other items, although I still would not put 100% into my guess of gender and socioeconomic status. This is the first archaeology class I have taken with a lab, and I before this I don’t think I understood just how valuable and insightful minuscule ‘small things forgotten’ items can be towards interpreting and understanding the way a person lives. I also thought that had it been another week how my trash might have been completely different, and if the sample period had been longer what else could I guess about the person and if I would be more accurate, or would it become too much for a clear picture? We learned that people tend to underreport as well, which makes me wonder if the sample I analyzed or I did that. Garbology, while sounding very skeptical at first, definitely provides a lot of information about a person, their habits, and lifestyle, and is a very useful tool for learning about people in the modern age.