Hey I'm Gabriel Garcia and I'm Trading a single Pencil all the way to a House.

The Journey so Far...

The Story

Pencil ✏️

Meet Yanett!
I started this challenge by first asking her at Cloud Creamery if I could have a pencil. I'm usually a shy person so before that I was walking around the area just to build the courage to ask for one haha.

Scarf🧣

Meet Marianne!
After getting the pencil, I traded it for a pen, and drove to a nearby farmers market. Walking around, I kept thinking, who on Earth would trade for a pencil? This is so silly. But to my surprise, when I approached Marianne, she welcomed me with so much warmth. Without hesitation, she traded a scarf for the pen.

Candle 🕯️

Meet Elisa!
With newfound optimism, I wandered through the farmers market looking for my next trade. Then to the corner of my eye, I spotted a nice candle booth and thought, “Woah, those candles look pretty nice.” I walked up to Elisa and asked, “Do you have anything to trade for this blanket?” Immediately in my head I was like, "bruh… why did you say blanket, it’s a scarf." But she didn’t even mind. After a moment, she traded her handmade Honeysuckle Candle for the scarf.

Kalimba 🎶

Meet Kristen!
Instead of going in person, I decided to change up my strategy and go on Facebook Marketplace. After hours trying to find people to message and dming, I had lost a bit of hope. Until, Kristen messaged me: "Aww! That’s so much fun!! 🤩 Yeah, I’d love to trade, yeah, I’m down." We met the same day we dm'd and traded her Kalimba for the Honeysuckle Candle. In this moment, it had gave me a bit more hope in the journey.

TV Speaker 🔊

Meet Billy! The Legend!
The next day, I posted the kalimba on FB Marketplace. A few moments later, Billy messaged me. With no time to waste, he was straight to the point: "I have a TV speaker, do you wanna trade?" I asked what model, and to my surprise, it was a Vizio sound bar! My jaw dropped, my mind was blown. I couldn't believe it. Right away, I absolutely said yes. We met the next day, at a plaza trading the Kalimba for his TV Speaker.

Coach Bag 👜

Meet Brandon!
A few weeks had passed by, and I didn't have any luck on any trades. I even had a guy who didn't show up for a trade. (It's okay Brad, I forgive you) But one day, I got a Facebook Marketplace message from a person named Brandon. He said, "I can trade you a Coach bag!!!" with multiple pictures paired with it. The next day we met in front of the coffee shop where he worked, successfully trading the TV speaker for his Coach bag. After we traded, he kindly gave me a free matcha latte with words written on the top of the cup that said, "Happy Trading!".

Tandem Bike 🚲

Meet Alan!
Three months passed with zero trades. I tried going in person, emailing companies, and even driving from Houston to Austin to find trades, but nothing worked out. Then, I tried Facebook Marketplace ads, thinking, "It doesn't hurt to try". Two days later, I checked the post and my eyes opened wide, two thousand clicks. Woah Wut? I was in disbelief that so many people saw the journey! Out of everyone, a man named Alan reached out to trade his Tandem Bike for the Coach bag. I immediately said yes! I told him I’d need time to find a big enough vehicle, but Alan was so generous and said, "No worries, I can drop it off". We met two days later for the trade, and when I asked what he’d do with the bag, he said, "I'll probably give it to my mom since it's Christmas time".

Alan and I riding the tandem bike together.

Whats Next?❓

Meet You!
After seeing this website you decided to join the journey and help me reach my goal of trading up to a house. So you went home finding an item you could trade and contacted me below! :D