She just landed her dream home and it all started with trading a single bobby pin

Demi Skipper's 'Trade Me Project' on Instagram.
It’s amazing what you can do with perseverance, optimism and a single bobby pin.
The Today Show recently highlighted the incredible success of 30-year-old Demi Skipper’s “Trade Me Project,” where Skipper documented her 28 trades that landed her the keys to her very own dream home.
And it all started with (you guessed it) a bobby pin. The real crazy part: It happened in the span of just a year and a half.
You might be thinking, “wait, I’ve heard this story before, haven’t I?”
Indeed, Skipper's idea was inspired by Kyle MacDonald, whose initial red paperclip trade landed him a house within a year, back in 2005. He even has a TED Talk about it:
What if you could trade a paperclip for a house? | Kyle MacDonald | TEDxViennawww.youtube.com
I’m fairly certain, though I have no hard evidence to prove it, this is the concept behind a hilarious scene from "The Office," where Dwight Schrute tries to educate us all about “The Art of the Swap.”
Spoiler alert: The swap doesn’t go quite as well for Dwight as it does Skipper and MacDonald.
Dwight's 'Art of the Swap' - 'The Office'www.youtube.com
Since Skipper recorded her bartering journey on Instagram and TikTok, the story of a bobby pin magically transforming into a home—and more importantly, what that represents—has gone mainstream yet again.
The bobby pin led to earrings …
Across social media, Skipper would note which items got swapped, along with their retail value. In this case, something worth a penny got traded for something with a thousand times more monetary value.
… which were traded for glassware …
As we will see, big changes happen as a result of small moments.
… eventually she traded for a car …
… fast forward to a controversial Chipotle Celebrity Gift Card …
Yeah, some people were not jazzed about this one, and called it her worst trade. To be fair, free Chipotle every day for a year, plus a catered meal for 50, that racks up.
“You’ll be lucky to get $500 for it,” one user wrote.
As it turns out, luck was indeed on Skipper’s side.
… which got traded for this …
Skipper made one Chipotle fan an offer they couldn’t refuse. In exchange, Skipper received an off-the-grid trailer worth about $40,000.
There was one caveat: The trailer would require a drive from Skipper’s home in San Francisco over the border with Canada to pick it up. But I mean, once you’ve made it this far, what’s a few thousand miles?
… and finally, a new home.
@trademeproject The Final Trade 🥺🏠 #trademeproject #letsgetthishouse
♬ Inspiring and spectacular emotional epics(869013) - Minette
And then came the final chapter when a house flipper in Tennessee, who had been following Skipper’s bobby pin saga, reached out showing interest in a trade. One solar-powered trailer for one house.
And it happened on the day after Thanksgiving, no less.
Running up to her new home, a teary Skipper is seen in the TikTok video saying, “This just shows you: it’s possible!”
According to Today, Skipper reports that people have been “overwhelmingly positive” in their response, saying that “people really have doubted me, and I certainly did at times during the journey too. But I learned a lot about myself in the process, and I was really amazed by my ability to stick with it.”Now what?
Well, first there’s the big move from California to Tennessee. Then, renovation. Followed by … doing it all over again. Skipper revealed her plans to “donate the next house … to a person who needs it, no mortgage, no rental” and that would be the start of a brand new trade journey.
“There’s been a couple of people who have done this once, but no one’s crazy enough to do it twice,” said Skipper.
After hearing this story, I can't help but think of what other amazing things might occur as a result of really working toward something every day.
Or, when viewed from a lens of something other than success, I think about how our world might be changed with the simple commitment of one kind act each and every day.
There are people, like Skipper, who are leading by example. And it certainly makes that first step seem much more doable, whether that’s a bobby pin, a good deed or even a kind word.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."