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,
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