Sentimental Value

“That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value.” This quote by Thomas Paine is saying that everything we can get our hands on easily is appreciated too much, and that the value of the things we get should be measured by the amount of effort we put forth to obtain it. I too, like Thomas Paine, believe that the things that people value the most is those things which they have worked hard to obtain. This sentimental value can and should be more important to people than the objects monetary value.

When people work hard for something, it feels really good when you achieve your goal. For example, let’s say a student received a car for his birthday. It could be a very nice, expensive car, and while he would highly appreciate it, he may feel a bit embarrassed to have not done anything to deserve such a gift. Now let’s say that same student, instead, got a job and worked for a car. He may not be able to afford a nice car, but he would take pride in his accomplishment of buying a car for himself. This shows how working hard to get what you want can be more rewarding than simply receiving it.

Without putting forth effort to get what you deserve, you are simply getting what you want served on a silver platter. In the real world, this doesn’t happen too often. It is nice to enjoy what you have obtained through luck for otherwise, but no matter what, it will always feels better to obtain things through hard work. People who do not ever need to work for what they want will often become lazy and dependent on other people. People will become annoyed with you, and may stop bothering with you altogether. This is why people must value what the accomplished, as opposed to only valuing what they can get from others.

It is clear that the value of things in this world should not be measured by the amount of money it is worth, but rather the amount of work it took to obtain that money. In this world, there will always