Cigarettes, alcohol and pop are just a few things in our society which are terrible for the people who live in it. Allow me to explain.

Pop is sold just about everywhere. It's a large part of America's growing obesity problem, and it is a widespread cause of diabetes. Actually, in many third world countries a bottle of pop is cheaper than clean water. And what exactly is it anyways? It's concentrated sugar water with flavours and colours added in. Why not just drink water? It's calorie free, caffeine free, and it DOESN'T KILL YOU! In fact, it does quite the opposite.

Alcohol. Why does our government market a central nervous system depressant to it's citizens? They're basically our nation's biggest drug dealer. They supply alcoholics with their liquor like a crack dealer supplies his crackheads with crack. And think about all the people who get alcohol poisoning, who die in car crashes and all those who are currently addicted to it. This is a drug epidemic which our government is the cause of. If you disagree with me, open your eyes, this is a real issue: I don't care if you like getting drunk. And don't think I have an anti-drinking stance because I don't drink. I've been there, and done that nearly every weekend for three years of my life.

Cigarettes are highly addictive, very deadly, and worse yet, they even affect people who don't smoke them through second hand smoke and the damage that they do to the environment. People who are addicted spend ridiculous amounts of money (which they will only make so much of in a lifetime) on supporting their habit. They're literally paying for a slow death at the hands of something that removes one's ability to relax and be comfortable, without having to dose themselves with a drug. Why are most other highly addictive and deadly substances illegal, while cigarettes are available for sale to the general public? This is another case of our government being the nation's biggest drug dealer.
Here's some facts to back up my argument:
Cigarettes are very lethal, half of all smokers are killed by their habit.
Every 6.5 seconds smoking kills someone.
In China alone, 1.2 MILLION people die annually from smoking. That's 2000 a day!
18% of all deaths in America are caused by smoking, more that the next top 5 causes combined.

They are all overpriced, and people spend their hard earned money, which they will only ever have so much of, on these things which cause a slow death. Should it really be the person's choice? Shouldn't the government step in and do something about it? Maybe they're a little to concerned with the money they're making off of being our nation's biggest drug dealer. What do you think?

     Yesterday, i figured something out which I thought was very important. It sort of came to me after I realized, that I really hadn't enjoyed myself for a long, long time. I actually thought something was wrong with me. I guess I was so concerned with, and caught up in life; that I never stopped to smell the roses. I was doing things, which I normally would have enjoyed, but I felt empty, all the time. Whether I was waking up, going to sleep, eating breakfast, taking my dog for a walk, reading a book, or even watching tv, it all just felt empty. Then I realized, how am i supposed to experience a feeling of happiness if i'm not trying to be happy, and actively pursuing it? If i'm not wanting and trying to be happy, whether i'm consciously aware of it or not, I wont be happy. Simple as that. Tomorrow i'm going to take my dog for a walk, and i'm going to enjoy it. Why? what will make this time different from yesterday or the day before? The fact that I know that I want to. I'm not just going to run her around the block like a dog walking drone. I'm going to sit with her in the field until she wants to go home, and until then, I'm going to enjoy the clouds, the sky, the trees, the breeze, and the company of my dog, who likes to spend long periods of time sitting in the field beside my house doing nothing. Maybe she was trying to tell me something? "Richard, stop it. Take a break. You don't need to be doing something every second of every day. Stop, sit down and take in the wonderful things which you can experience while you are still alive." Maybe i'm just telling myself that, but what's it matter if i believe it. I suppose i'd rather be working towards my happiness than stressing over completing my homework, or making sure I've done a proper workout. I've strayed from my point a little so I'll just wrap things up. If you want to be happy, take a step back, realize what makes you happy, and then do it. Don't go through life on autopilot, and always have a damn good reason for why you are doing whatever you are doing.

And remember guys, life's too important to be wasted. It's the only one you get, and it's all that you get. Don't take it for granted.

Who am I? Why am I here?

     Well, quite simply, i'm here because i want to be. I'm kinda into literature, as some of you remember from that bingo-style game we played; and i hope this course will allow me to create my own stories, and not just empty, happy, lucky-go bullcrap. Good stories, with a message. See, writing for the sake of writing is great and all - some of the best stuff I've ever read has had nothing to say: no message to get across, but i think a good story has to have a message; and not a pointless, cynical message like in The Nose. I'm talking about a real message, something that's insightful, useful, and worthwhile. Something that gets you thinking, and something that can improve your life. In my opinion, if a story has nothing to say, it's just a story.