Why Should I Be Paid?

I am in no way more special than anyone around me, and I am not very different in most

ways. I’m just a teenager trying to figure out how my life is going to play out. So, why should I

get a free sum of $25,000? I don’t have my own apartment bills to pay, I don’t have a kid, and I

have no abnormally large responsibilities. Many kids have much more need for the money than I

do. However, I am the best candidate to give the money to, and I will tell you why.

If I received $25,000 with no conditions and no return favors required, the first thing I

would purchase would be a car. I’ve needed a car for a year now, but my family doesn’t have the

financial ability to give me one. In just a few short months I will be graduating high school,
and

at that point in my life a car will be a necessity if I want to have any hope for ever being

independent.
Being handed such a large amount of free money would be a blessing in disguise

for me, and a large burden would be lifted off my family’s shoulder. That is, unfortunately, the

only way I would help my family using the money.

After making that one and only responsible purchase with the money, I would then

continue on with a spending spree that would be seemingly senseless to anyone else. The theory

of social reciprocity isn’t a common topic of discussion, but it intrigues me nonetheless. An

example of reciprocation in a social atmosphere would be for one person to open a door for

another or pick up and return a dropped item to the oblivious owner. The majority of people who

receive a simple and common favor such as this go on to also act out a simple favor for someone

else, whether they also open a door for someone, or hand someone a mere bottle of water on the

side of the road.

Based on that social theory, I choose to spend the remaining money on favors and

random gifting. Though random strangers would be more fun, people I know would be more

likely to receive a gift from an anonymous person, namely me, and in return, I would hope
that

the reciprocity theory is correct. That by randomly favoring one person, that person will then

return the favor to someone else, and so on, slowly and rather simply affecting a line of people.

The money spent would go to specific items for specific people I choose, whom I already have

listed in my head.

Consequently, my reasoning for claiming that I deserve the money more than others is in

some way selfish. I am gambling on people’s decency and tendency, and in return gaining

satisfaction in knowing that I have directly and indirectly influenced people in a positive way.

Yes, some people need to the money for bills and other troubles, but I desire it to make a mere

difference, no matter how small. I think my idea is worth giving $25,000 for, and I hope the

giver will agree.

After spending a grand total of $16,050 on a used Nissan 350Z, I would then turn to

searching for people to bless. To start off my giving spree, a hopefully short visit to the popular

Christian restaurant Chick-Fil-A would be in order. I would go up to the counter and ask to be

able to pay for the first twenty people that ordered a Chick-Fil-A sandwich, handing over

$140.07 to cover exact costs. Staying would defeat the purpose of the reciprocation theory since

it is not necessary to see how people react to being randomly paid for by a stranger, so I would

move on to my next task.

For a Christmas present, my father gave up the iPhone 6 he had been basically dying to

have so that I could have it since I had broken my previous phone. Being completely anonymous

so that it would seem as a random act of kindness, a brand new $694.43 iPhone 6 would be

mailed to him with no return address and his name on it. As a separate gift about a week later, I

would have a $1,259.99 Minn Kota trolling motor delivered to our front door step with his name

on it and nothing else. I know for a fact that with that new motor for his bass boat, he would give

away the one he currently has since he would no longer need it. The first visible step to passing

on the favor. In the following weeks, my parents would receive a $10.70 knee brace for my

father, a brand new $179 queen sized bed for the both of them, and a $680.26 twelve month

supply of already paid for contacts for myself since I am aware they cannot easily afford my

expensive prescription. My parents are the type to see everything as a blessing and would not

hesitate to turn to someone else in need and help out where they could, feeling humbled by all

the random gifts.

My grandparents would be next to receive a favor. They are extremely generous people,

but no one ever seems to give anything back to them. A $2,149.92 six-sided Skutt pottery kiln

would be delivered to my MiMi’s pottery shop. She’s been saying she wants one for years, but

couldn’t afford another. My Papa Glenn would get two Coleman sleeping bags worth $70 since

he is a simple man and prefers simple, sensible gifts.

Moving on to more distant but still loved relatives, the very high medical bills of my

handicapped cousin Avery would receive a payment for feeding tube requirements of $2,000.

My cousin Lucy would receive a simple yet cute stuffed panda worth $11.01; she’s always been

a fan of bears. My two older male cousins would get a $284.62 hoverboard each, coming by mail

with no return address. My Papa and two uncles would each get a $135.88 crossbow in the mail

as well since every male in my family has a huge attachment to hunting.

The last large amount of cash would go to a charity, $500 for my church’s soup and

service kitchen called Helping Hands. With the majority of the money then spent, the last bit,

$21.40, would quickly be used to buy myself exactly twenty bags of original skittles – my

favorite candy - leaving me with $.23 out of the original $25,000.

I am the type of person to save my money like a miser, but I doubt I would have a

problem spending the money in a short time. The people in my life deserve the gifts I would send

them, and I trust all of them to turn right around and show someone else a similar favor,

continuing the reciprocation theory. I believe the $25,000 would be well used for a perfectly

good cause: to try and better the world a little at a time. If I received the money, I hope I would

be able to make a difference with the generous gift.