The Results of the Proposal is Negative

          In a chaotic state the nation’s economy is in, people are exceedingly concerned about what their tax dollars are paying for. A large amount of tax money goes to the US welfare system, designed to give financial aid to families and people in desperate need of assistance. With the large impact the welfare system has on impoverished families and tax payers, the proposition to enforce drug tests on welfare recipients has been controversial. I disagree with the suggestion to require drug tests of welfare recipients due to the high cost of the proposal, and the relatively low amount of recipients using drugs.

          With the huge economic debt, and ever increasing need to cut back on spending, the last thing that states and federal government need is another useless program or regulation to squander money on. However some people managed to have found just that with the idea to require drug tests from welfare recipients. According to the article “States Adding Drug Test as Hurdle for Welfare” the drug tests the states pay for “costs up to $40, and the state will reimburse those who pass” (Sulzberger). When taking into consideration that in Florida “7,030 passed, 32 failed, and 1597 did not provide results” (Sulzberger) the drug tests, which would mean that just the state of Florida alone, could end up paying $280,000 for reimbursements to the participants who passed. And if the entire country took up this proposal, then millions of dollars would solely be wasted to the drug tests. To use these millions of dollars for the drug tests of the welfare system, rather than utilizing them for the welfare system itself is a preposterous idea. The high cost of the drug tests would not be so ridiculous, if it wasn’t for the uselessness of them due to the low amount of drug users among welfare recipients

          .  According to the report “Illegal Drug Use” by the Center for Disease Control, the percentage of people over 12 years or  older “with any illicit drug use in the past month: 8.7%”(CDC). When taking into consideration that “unemployed adults are about twice as likely” (Sulzberger) to use drugs compared to employed adults, we can conclude that around 17% of unemployed adults use drugs. However when looking at the welfare recipient drug test results of Florida that were provided, less than one percent of the recipients used drugs. However there were 1,597 results that weren't provided. Even if assuming that half of the non provided recipients failed their drug tests, which is probably larger than reality, than around 10% of the recipients used drugs. With this we can see that the large majority of people who receive welfare don’t use it for drugs, but rather use it to support families.

The argument that drug tests would save welfare dollars by preventing recipients from spending the money on drugs is completely nullified by the fact that the drug tests themselves would be at a much higher expense. Due to the high cost of the drug test, and low amount of drug users among recipients, we can conclude that these drug tests are a huge misapplication of valuable taxpayer dollars, and a waste of time.

  

Is the Risk Worth the Reward?

The world appears to be in the midst of both an economic and environmental crisis. Between these two lurking giants, the debate over the expansion of oil drilling lies. It appears that the decision to enlarge, or reduce the expansion of oil drilling will inevitably assist one of the problems, but greatly increase the harm of the others. When deciding if offshore oil drilling in the US should be increased, one must consider the potential benefits towards economics, and the potential hazards towards the environment.

The US economy is in a volatile state. A completely unpredictable market and a 9 percent unemployment rate are making the idea of expanding oil drilling extremely attractive. Offshore oil drilling could tremendously help the economy in multiple ways. One way it could help the economic problem is that it could give thousands of unemployed citizens a job and a source of income. With these additional people obtaining jobs, and making money, the money they spend at businesses and stores could benefit those businesses, and in turn those businesses could hire more people too. Another way oil expansion could help the economy is that with the additional oil in the country, oil prices would most likely go down. With lower oil prices, people would now be able to spend less revenue on gas, and spend their money in other places and businesses. Companies would also benefit because now with less money being spent on their delivery trucks, and tractor trailers, more money could be spent on products and hiring additional people. Although these benefits are a very likely outcome, there are some potential environmental problems.

          In 2010 an underwater oil valve in the Gulf of Mexico controlled by the company BP broke, pouring out millions upon millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. With BP’s slow response time and ineffective solutions, the wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico was greatly impacted. Science Daily is a website that provides articles about modern day science related news. According to Science Daily’s article “One YearLater, Oil Spill’s Impact On Gulf Not Fully Understood” even an entire year after the oil spill the local bird population is still affected, “nearly all the young birds and a huge proportion of the adults had at least some oil on them.” This oil can cause dangers for the birds such as choking hazards and sickness. Some people hope to expand oil drilling to the Arctic Ocean. People must take the Gulf disaster into perspective when considering about expanding oil drilling to places such as the Arctic or other coastal regions. If an oil valve in the Arctic broke, it could be more devastating than the oil valve in the Gulf, due to the fact that a valve in the Arctic would be further away than a valve in the Gulf, and would most likely take more time to respond to. The additional oil could also damage the world’s global warming concerns. However although these are alarming concerns people must know that these are only possible concerns, and not definite dangers.

Go to College to Get More Knowledge

With the ever increasing difficulty Americans are being presented to find jobs, and huge college tuition prices, many people are wondering if going to college is the answer to economic success. In the article "Will Drop Outs Save America" Ellsberg argues that it is a wiser decision for new entrepreneurs to stay out of college. I however believe that going to college is a better financial decision for people to make, due to the high risk new businesses pose to owners and the average earnings that college graduates earn rather than high school graduates. 

In his article "Using Goldratt’s Thinking Process to Improve the Success Rate of Small Business Start-ups" Ellsberg shows the reader how hugely successful companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter, were all created by college dropouts. And although these dropouts are among the wealthiest people of the world, there is a large amount of businesses that fail. In an article by Lloyd J. Taylor, the article states "businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37% chance of surviving four years" and "Restaurants have the highest failure rate, with only a 20% chance of surviving two years"(Taylor). With this information we can see how it is such a huge risk to start a new business, and how few people actually make a success off of them. If ones business failed, it would be much safer for a person to have a college degree to fall back on. With a college degree people would usually find jobs with higher salaries.

The article "College Degree Nearly Double Annual Earnings" the article states "Workers 18 and over sporting bachelors degrees earn an average of $51,206 a year, while those with a high school diploma earn $27,915"(Longley). This article shows how people with college degrees almost make double the amount of money compared to people without degrees. Because having a degree usually earns people more money, and appeals more to employers, it is obvious that having a college degree is beneficial when searching for a job.

Many people however feel that college is far too expensive to go to, and is not worth the benefits. Although college is very expensive to attend, it does pay off in the long run substantially. With college degrees people on average earn much more money, and if one owned a business having a college degree could be appealing to investors due to the experience and knowledge the individual has. And although Ellsberg supports people immediately starting businesses out of high school, it is a much wiser decision to get a college degree to keep your options open, and possibly earn a decent salary for a number of years, and use the money earned to start up a new business.

No More Halloween?

Halloween is right around the corner, a holiday that is beloved by children around the world. And although a festive event would appear to spread joy, it is causing some controversy. In one elementary school celebrating Halloween in school has been banned. The reason for this is because one student is a Jehovah's Witness (I believe the child is, but possibly a different religion) and does not believe in the idea of Halloween. The principal banned Halloween in the school so that the student would not be upset or discriminated against. I believe that this is ridiculous for the school to ban Halloween. When schools celebrate Halloween, it is not meant to anger people, or tell people that it is the right thing to do; it is to let the children have a fun time. They don't tell kids that if you don't celebrate Halloween you are wrong, just that Halloween is a holiday that kids can have fun. I can not see how allowing people to celebrate a holiday like Halloween could upset someone so much. And now because one kid could have possibly been a little upset, every single other kid now has to be upset and get there Halloween in school taken away. It just seems like you can't celebrate anything anymore, because people will get offended. Some people might disagree with me saying that banning Halloween is the right thing to do because it could offend the child. I do not see how this could offend anyone. I wonder if a child’s religious views are against the destroying of trees, will pencils and papers be banned. And also why didn't someone just simply ask the child if he would be offended or have a problem with Halloween. It amazes me how little things can cause such an enormous deal. 

Hypocrisy at it's Finest

Recently a radio ad in Texas advertising a concealed hand gun class has sparked a great deal of controversy. In the ad the owner Crockett Keller said "If you are a socialist liberal and/or voted for the current campaigner in chief, please do not take this class" and "If you are a non-Christian, Arab, or Muslim, I will not teach you the class.”. Many people support his ad and even congratulated him, while others want him to be punished for offending certain types of people. In his own defense Keller said he was using his right of freedom of speech, and was expressing his opinion. This controversy seems very similar to another recent incident. A man named Tarek Mehanna is currently on trial accused of aiding and spreading the ideas of the terrorist group al-Qaida. Mehanna has visited Yemen where he is thought to have contacted terrorists. He has also translated violent jihad messages into English, was found with texts describing al-Qaida training, and says that he loves Osama Bin Laden. Mehanna's family is defending him saying that he too is just practicing the 1st amendment and never harmed or planned to harm anyone. With the Keller situation, most people defending him are white Americans, a large amount of them who dislike Muslims. With the Mehanna situation most people defending him are most likely Muslims, a large amount of them dislike non-Muslims. Both of these men are defending themselves with freedom of speech, even though their views are polar opposites. The point I'm trying to make with these two current controversies are that people can be so hypocritical. Some people who support Keller because he is using the 1st amendment probably hate Mehanna and ignore that he was possibly using his first amendment and want him punished. And it's the same thing for Mehanna supporters who hate Keller. It is completely contradictory if someone takes account for the one of the two men’s freedom of speech and not the others. Some people might disagree saying that Mehanna was obviously trying to harm Americans, or that Keller was obviously trying to harm Muslims. I'm not saying that either men are guilty or innocent, but you must take in account for both of their freedoms of speech, no matter if you agree with Mehanna’s or Keller’s views, or what the situation is.

The Shoe is On the Other Foot

I woke up, rubbed my eyes, and stood up. But when I tried to stand up I hit my head on something. I opened my eyes and found myself stuck in a clear container which seemed to be made out of plastic. I was in complete shock and was convinced I was dreaming. After panicking and deep breathing for a few minutes I started frantically banging on the walls around me. No matter what I tried I could not break free from the container. I observed what was around me, and it was exactly what my room looked like only much bigger than I was. With nothing else to do I sat and pondered about my current situation. After an hour of pure confusion, and fear, the door creaked open and in walked a giant yellow M&M. He sat down in his chair, looked at me for a minute and than began to type on his computer. 

He is Not a Toy, He's a Human Being

When people look at this yellow M&M and see the current conditions he’s subjected to, like being trapped in a plastic case, people don't think anything of it. They smile at him, say he’s cute, and spin him. But what if this M&M has feelings? Would you like it very much to be stuck in a plastic case all the time? It's probably very stuffy and hot in there. He also has to go through the same boring routine, he's kept in the shadows on a desk for hours, than a kid takes him out and types about him on a keyboard, and than puts him back in the dark. He is than given to another student like some simple trinket. People need to be more considerate. Why would anyone support these monstrosities by buying them? I know if I walk down a store aisle with a row full of these M&M's stuck in plastic cases, I’ll do what Elliot did in E.T. with the frogs, Ill set them all free.

Is There Anybody In There?

"Hello is there anybody in there. Just nod if you can hear me". I asked the yellow M&M stuck in the plastic case. With no response, the M&M just stood there in the same pose he's been in for days. Then I sat and thought in wonder, why is the M&M in the plastic case. Was he an anti social, and made an attempt to cut off communication with everyone else. Did someone hold a grudge against him and trap him. Maybe his entrapment was the outcome of an act of stupidity; perhaps he climbed into the case and closed the hatch with no handle on the inside. Whatever the reason is I just hope he is happy inside of there. 

The Man in the Plastic Case

The story of the yellow M&M is quite a sad one. When the candy empire of the M&M’s was formed the two most popular M&M's were Red and Yellow. Even though the both of them were brothers, the power struggle between the two was brutal about who would be the most popular M&M. To secure his power Red locked his brother Yellow in a plastic case that seemed impervious to break. Red also put thick beads in the case, so that when his brother moved around to try to break free, he would be struck on the head by the beads falling, and would also be very annoyed with the clanking noise they make. Whether the yellow M&M will be released no one knows, but all of us hope he will one day and secure the spot as most popular M&M.

The Miserable Boston Red Sox

Today the Boston Red Sox decided to release manager Terry Francona from the team. In my opinion this was an incredibly bad decision for the team to make. Terry Francona is one of the greatest baseball managers in modern times. Since 2004 he has held many impressive statistics such as the most World Series wins as a manager, the most over 90 win seasons, and the most playoff appearances. Under Terry Francona's leadership the Boston Red Sox broke the infamous Babe Ruth curse and won the World Series after 86 long years. Francona has been a face of the organization and an image of its resilience and dominance. To get rid of such an incredible manager like that is just ridiculous. Many people are making a scapegoat out of Terry Francona for the Red Sox downfall this season, saying that he is the reason for the Red Sox failure in a season that many sports analysts predicted the Red Sox would win. I do not believe that it is his fault; I believe it was a combination of lack of effort from the players, awful pitching, and injuries. People also think that the team should have a new voice and face to look towards, I however can’t imagine someone better or more inspirational to play for than Terry Francona. Even though Terry Francona said that he thought it was better that he departed, I believe the team should have made so much more of an effort to keep him in Boston.

Leave Others Alone

It seems like in today’s day in age, people are trying to protect others more and more from doing dangerous acts to themselves. For example many laws and organizations are discouraging and trying to make unhealthy acts illegal such as smoking cigarettes, eating dangerous foods, and not wearing motorcycle helmets. In my opinion people need to leave others alone more. If someone else is putting themselves at risk and no one else is at danger from it like someone not wearing a motorcycle helmet, then let that person make the unwise mistake. If a person decides to ruin their lungs and body by smoking cigarettes, let them, it is nobody else's business to get involved. I believe that it is ridiculous for a person to tell someone they can not do one thing because someone else was endangered by it. Let people think and choose for them selves. I just think it is ridiculous how people aren’t allowed to make decisions about their own lives anymore. Is the common man not intelligent enough to choose for himself, so now he needs others to choose for him? However there are circumstances to this, especially when children are involved or if it does endanger other innocent people. For example if a child is riding a bike without out a helmet, the parents should be punished. However when a 20 year old rides a motorcycle and isn’t wearing a helmet, they are old enough to make the decision themselves and live the life they want. Also if an act like driving drunk can harm other people then that should not be acceptable. I am not saying everything should be legal like drugs, but rules and regulations are getting ridiculous.  

This is the End

As I tried to think of a blog to write about my trinket, it occurred to me that this is the last time I'll write about Seaweed the Beanie Baby. I don't really know why, but I am not very much looking forward to writing about a whole different object for two weeks. Perhaps I won't be so fortunate, and won’t receive as interesting of a trinket as Seaweed. And for the next two weeks as a sit and try to muster up an idea for a blog about my new trinket, I'll remember Sandy, and be truly sad for not having a trinket that is so easy to write about as him.

Imagine

Imagine what it would be like to live as an otter. Looking at my Beanie baby Seaweed makes me wonder about if living like an otter is the right way to go. Should we be constantly worried about homework, jobs, politics, and the average day problems? Is that what living life is all about? It seems like people are worrying about the future much more than living in the present. Perhaps living like an otter is the happiest and most fulfilling life one can have. Swimming, running, hunting for fish, and living with nature, all seem like enjoyable things to do in daily life. Maybe people should start living more simplistic lives and take example from  otters.

A Day in the Life

Every day Seaweed the Beanie Baby wakes up from a long slumber. He begins by stretching his legs and arms out, then brushing his teeth, and topping it off with mouth wash. The bottled excitement Seaweed is trying to contain, just waiting to come splashing, ferociously out. He doesn't know what today holds, and that is how he likes to keep it, life being obscured by mystery. What might today hold? Perhaps mountain climbing, skydiving, racing, bike riding, sight seeing? However as the day goes by, Seaweed’s excitement slowly dies down because he remembers he is a stuffed animal, and he can't even move. In disappointment Seaweed goes to bed until the sun once again rises. Every day Seaweed the Beanie Baby wakes up from a long slumber.

Try it Out

It may look just like a simple Beanie Baby, but this isn't just your run of the mill child’s stuffed animal. This is the most magnificent and peculiar object known to man. By simply petting Seaweed (the Beanie Baby's name) on the head, you can actually switch places with any otter around the world. Instead of sitting on a chair at home, in the blink of an eye you could instantaneously be hunting a fish in a mighty river. Instead of wasting precious moments of your short life doing nothing, you could swim and run nimbly across beautiful landscapes. So make a real change in your life, and find out what adventure feels like.

Ear Plugs Please

Throughout all of history people have expressed emotions and ideas through music. And generally all forms of music took instrumental or vocal talents. However, most music today now seems to have no talent, or meaning in any way. It appears that people have lost their interests in actual human ability, and thoughtful lyrics. I personally am a huge fan of 60’s and 70’s rock and I know only a minority of people who listen to it too. I honestly can’t make sense of why people listen to new music like rap and hip hop. It’s mostly computerized beats that don’t require the artists to have any talent to put in their songs, unlike instruments. A huge amount of current artists don’t even use their own voices, instead they have a computer change the sound of their voice to make it actually appealing. I know people who have seen Black Eyed Peas and Nikki Minaj concerts, and said how terrible they are, which is because in concerts they sing with their own awful voices and don’t use auto tune. Pink Floyd’s album “Dark side of the Moon” was on the top 500 charts for 741 weeks, more than any other album made in history. The Doors debut album was recorded in a mere 5 days, and one of their most famous songs “The End” took only one try to record, the recording had no re-do’s or over dubs. Present day artists don’t even make albums that much. It seems that they don’t have the creative capability to make a long concept piece, and only release singles in a desire for quick money. Although I hope rock is not dead, it has definitely been replaced as what’s considered main stream by a terrible excuse for music.

Donate Now

Hi I'm Tom Hanks, bringing you this message. Animals all across the globe are suffering for humans mistakes, but one animal in specific is suffering a great deal. North American otters like Seaweed here are losing a struggle for life. Seaweed’s main source of food is seaweed, but with private contractors and big corporations ravaging seaweed forests across the globe in preparations for the construction of underwater cities, otters everywhere are losing food and their source of life. For 15 cents a day you can pay for new seaweed seeds to be planted in the ocean, saving little Seaweed's life. Please, they need your help. Thank you for your time.

This is Seaweed the Beanie Baby sending out a message; please help me. I’m being held captive by a class high school kids. So far I've been taken by two different students, and they have brought me to two different buildings which I'm assuming is where they live. I sit and wait in the same room, and every day at some time of the day, they bring me out in front of a computer and just type. Then two weeks later, I'm swapped around like a Christmas gift during that Yankee candle or white elephant game. I don't know who these sick people are, but please get me out of here. I hope I don’t have to go through another week of this insanity.

Buy it Now!

Hey folks, John Madden here with the new toy sweeping the nation, it’s Seaweed the Beanie Baby. Be the all star parent this holiday season, and buy your kid one of these incredible toys. Seaweed is just a lone rookie out their looking to be drafted to your family. And your kids are guaranteed to absolutely love Seaweed's soft, cuddly, cuteness. And as if buying one of these toys isn't good enough, ten buyers will actually win tickets to this year’s super bowl. So get off of the couch, drive to the local store, and get your hands on this toy. Deals like these are as good as touchdowns, and you can be like Joe Montana by buying Seaweed.

Beanie Baby Core

Do you remember that craze in the 90's people went through for that one toy? Parents would drive miles to try to get them, and stampedes of fans trampled on those who were to unfortunately clumsy. Indeed I am talking about Beanie Baby's, and I Seaweed was chosen to be delightful and adorable enough to join the prestigious ranks of Beanie Baby’s. Now for all the rookies out their excited to join the elite force of fun and cuteness, just stop right now and forget about. There is only the slightest chance that you will even be considered to become a genuine Beanie Baby. However, if you try with all your heart, working hard, and truly believing you have what it takes, you'll still never become one.

Nobama

Once again today the stock market has gone down, with the Dow Jones falling over 250 points. The month of August ended with no jobs being created in the country. President Obama said that he has created a new jobs plan that will help put the economy back on track, and increase job growth. If this is truly what his plan would do it would be great, except nobody knows what the plan is because he hasn't told any details about his plan. Since Obama says his plan will help the economy so much, the question I’m wondering is; why is Obama waiting so long to release his jobs plan in a time of need like this? Perhaps he is still improving some parts of it, but shouldn't he still give details to congress and the American people so they can understand and consider what his plan is all about. In my opinion this is one of the many things Obama has done wrong as president. Another error in my opinion was his handling of the debt crisis. There is definitely blame to be put on both parties; however I believe Obama handled the situation the worst. He claimed that if the debt deal didn't go through, some citizen’s social security checks wouldn't go through. He stressed the importance of the passing of the deal, yet when a republican made plan was potentially going to be passed, Obama said that he would not let it pass and would veto it. To me that seems very contradictious. Another bad decision by the president is the idea Obamacare, an act to change the nation’s health care system. I believe the act is not at all a good thing for the country. The act would make it so every citizen would need to purchase health insurance, or face a stiff fine. It is ridiculous to try forcing all Americans to buy health insurance for their entire lives, that is why the act was found to be unconstitutional by two judges, because the government has limited powers over citizens, and this definitely exceeds those limits. For many other reasons I believe Obama is doing an overall poor job in his presidency, and many people seem to agree with me, which is why his latest approval ratings are at a low 40%.

Today is Thursday, the first beacon of hope for the magnificent weekend. And although that is how I look at an average Thursday, many people my age see it as something else, even giving the day a new name. They call it Jersday, after the newly popular MTV show Jersey Shore. Jersey Shore is a reality TV series about eight adults spending their summer on the beaches of New Jersey. It is MTV's most viewed show ever, and although so many of my friends watch it, I personally believe it is one of the worst shows ever created. I have seen small parts of it from multiple episodes and I can not last more than a minute before I change the channel. In every single episode it is the same exact thing, the cast member’s party, and get in fights with each other. There is absolutely no point to the show. All of them try to act dramatic, and pretend that their lives are difficult, even though all they do is nothing and then get paid millions of dollars for it. Several times the cast emphasizes the importance of their Italian heritage, calling each other family because they are all Italian. They call each other Italian racial slurs on multiple occasions. The next season of Jersey Shore is even being filmed in Italy. I can not express how unbelievable it is to me that they even consider mentioning their heritage. How don't they see how much of a mockery they are making out of the Italian culture with their show? When people watch the show, some are going to perceive that Italian people are stupid, lazy, short tempered, and party all the time. And the fact that they are going to their relative’s home country, to create a show that bashes their own culture is beyond me. I don’t believe that I will ever understand why people like it so much, but I am absolutely not one of those people.

Air Bubbles

As I look at my heart shaped paper weight, I think to myself how eye-catching it is. It is all glass giving it a smooth feel to it. The color is a very deep rich blue. As I start to examine the paper weight in full and admire its craftsmanship, I notice a single microscopic flaw. In the middle of the paper weight is a single tiny air bubble. As I try admiring the paper weight as I did before, the thought of the small air bubble is in the back of my head just nagging away at my want to appreciate it. Now every time I look at the paper weight I will immediately look right at the air bubble. However even though I am now disappointed with the paper weight I considered flawless, it can serve as a purposeful lesson. Even though the saying "nothings perfect" seems to be very cliché, the air bubble is all the proof in the world I need to defend it. No matter how much someone wants to break up an object or an idea, it will indisputably never be perfect no matter what object is the point of argument. Something so minuet such as the air bubble also seems to be a metaphor of human life in a whole. No matter how quaint and magnificent something may be, humans will eventually also ruin it with air bubbles. It is our nature and is inevitable.

Trinket 1: #5

In your hand you possess the key to what has filled people across the world with question and wonderment. What Einstein has claimed the impossible, is now possible, and to achieve this you don't need a Delorean, but this small heart shaped paperweight. With this you can travel through time itself, into the past or future. To work this amazing device, all you must have is true heart and desire to see a certain period in time. If you do succeed in traveling through time, you may stay there until your heart desires to go back to the original time and place you were when you first left. Although this may be an opportunity so many people would take immediately, there are enormous risks. One of these risks is creating a paradox in which the results could be catastrophic for everything in the universe. For example, if you travel back in time, there is a possibility you may change a series of events that may prevent you from ever being born. However if this did happen and you were never born, then how were you ever able to travel back in time in the first place? Unanswerable questions like these could have dangerous results, or perhaps no affects at all. So would you be careful and consciences, or would your uncertainties be clouded by the will to travel to another time?

The Greatest Product

The New York Times has called it "the most innovative, creative, and stunning items coming to the markets", and Time magazine has named the inventor Roger Waters, Time magazines "Person of the Year". Coming this Christmas, the single greatest gift a child, loved one, or friend could ask for, the brand new heart shaped paper weight. With an original sleek design, durable unbreakable glass, and an amazing ocean blue hue, the heart shaped paper weight is guaranteed to provide years of entertainment and excellent use. Never before has a paper weight had such a bold, revolutionary look, yet has the maximum efficiency for holding down papers. The world of paper weights will truly be changed forever because of this innovative product, and if you want to be part of this daring new world, order yours today.

Purpose

As I look at this blue heart shaped paper weight I wonder, why someone made this. It being made for the purpose to hold down papers is obvious, but why did they choose to make it a blue heart. Perhaps it’s a metaphor of how the creator of the paper weight felt at the time? When somebody says they feel blue it usually means that they are very sad or gloomy, so maybe the creator was expressing their feelings by making the paper weight a blue, heavy heart? Or the creator may have been thinking of something completely different? Perhaps they were expressing their love for the color blue, or maybe a love for the ocean? Whether it was made for a greater reason or with no explanation at all, it is still interesting to wonder about.  

a Difficult Job

Most people in today’s day in age seem to overlook paper weights. No one has discussions about us and no one thinks we are important; most people don't even use paper weights. It's shocking to me why we are treated in such a terrible way. The difficult tasks we must complete with almost no reward or praise from people. Not only do we have the job of being heavy enough to efficiently hold down important documents and papers, but we also have to present ourselves as an attractive home decoration. And their is so much pressure we are given to do a good job, because people don't  usually hold us near and dear so it isn't very hard for us to be thrown away. The physical toll it takes to keep still every waking moment while trying to hold down papers in a windy environment is unimaginable. So that is just a glimpse of the life of a paper weight. Think twice next time when you speak badly of a paperweight.

Micro Blog: Trinket 1

The trinket I received today in class was a large paper weight. The paper weight is all glass, and is in the shape of a heart. The color of it is a very rich blue, almost like the ocean. It is clear and see through, which also makes it appear like water and the ocean. The feel of it is smooth, and it is heavy for its size, which it should be because its a paper weight. Not only does the paper weight hold down paper but it does have other uses. If you look through it, the paper weight magnifies whatever it is you are looking at. It is also very appealing, and would be a good decoration.