Government Funded Day Care For Working Parents

I believe that parents who work during the week should not be entitled to free daycare for their children provided by the government.  There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason is that if a person has a child, then it is their responsibility to take care of the child, not that of the government.  The government had no part in the plans of individual people and their decisions to have or not to have children.  Because of this, I strongly believe that even though the parents may work all week, it is still their responsibility to ensure that their child will be cared for when they are unable to provide the care needed.  Also, it would drive the prices of day care up for people who did not meet the requirements for the government funded day care program.  This being because there would be less clients, so the day care providers would need to raise rates in order to maintain the standards for the children’s care.  To restate my point, I do not believe that working parents are entitled to free day care.

Art

            I value art very much because it is a way to express things that would otherwise be difficult to explain to the world.  We draw, paint, sing, and dance to express not only who we are, but what we want to become.  While taking a look at art from different time periods, such as that of the black plague era, I could see the emotions felt by so many people.  The paintings of that time were sad and sadistic, depicting people burning along with satanic images of women and children infected with some unseen killer.  Similarly, during the Renaissance Movement in Europe, the paintings depict good times when goods were cheap and easy to come by.  They show things such as children happily playing, colleges and other places of study flourishing in the great time period.  These things do not just apply to paintings although they are the most common works seen.  I strongly believe that art should be something that we all value in life. 

The Capital

            Over the summer, I went to our nation’s capital.  This was the first time I had been there because I skipped the standard eighth grade field trip.  I mean, let’s be honest, that trip was a total waste of money and you hardly got to see anything when they moved so fast.  I wanted to see everything and learn as much as I could, but I’m going to stick to the second day I spent in D.C.  We started out at the American History Museum and worked our way up the three exhibit floors.  I split off on my own and read everything.  I learned about everything from when the first vacuum cleaner was made to the tale of the National Anthem.  After exploring the Military Hall, my family and I went to the Air and Space Museum. Out of all the things we did there, this was by far my favorite.  Upon arriving, I headed to the far end where the model of the Apollo 16 lunar module was and worked my way backwards towards the stairs reading everything.  There was a whole section dedicated to comparing the Russian advances in missile and aerospace science to our ways.  Alongside that was a scale replica of Hubble Space Telescope and the infamous sputnik.  I made my way upstairs, walking through the inside of an aircraft carrier and a “space home” reading everything including the history of the Apollo Missions in their entirety and the Wright Brothers’ Hall.  After I finished, I had to wait for my family to finish up, so I had a random guy take a picture of me tebowing in the middle of the walkway.  I had so much fun there and would love to go back and spend some more time in all of the museums.

Nicholas

While my parents were chatting at the table, I went to blurt out a few questions about my name, but decided I should wait a few seconds so they would be listening.  I asked my mom how she and my dad had come to name me Nicholas today.  At first, my mom’s face made me think I was entering treacherous territory, but she answered me eventually.  My mom started out with, “I liked the name, so I gave it to you.” went on to tell me a few reasons for my naming.  At first she acted like my questions was an instigation to have some meaningless conversation, which is usually what it is.  She told me that because I was to be born on Christmas Eve, (I was born three days early however.) her first thought was of St. Nicholas.  I laughed pretty hard at this and made a few jokes about Santa Clause, which she told me I was a dork for.  Then I learned about a T.V. show that she watched as a child called “Eight is Enough”.  It followed a family in California with eight kids, the youngest being a boy named Nicholas.  She decided after watching that show that Nicholas was her favorite name.  I personally do not like the name very much.  I don’t think it fits me like it should.  Having another name would be strange, but I feel like my name shouldn’t be Nick.  When I researched my name and what it could mean, it told me that Nicholas’ tended to be extroverted and loud at times, but could be classy when needed.  I learned that it means victory of the people and was given to men born into wealth with family legacy.  I found this funny since, I am neither.  Although I can be loud and act like a total buffoon at times, I still stick to the belief that my name doesn’t suit me.