Dear Portfolio Readers,

As I reflect on my history as a writer, I am filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment. In high school, I can proudly say that I spent three long semesters in Honors English. I was given the opportunity to join the Advanced Placement level, but felt that it was in my best interest to stay in the Honors level. It is not that I was intimidated by the workload, but an overwhelming concern that I would lose my interest and fondness of writing by drowning in what seemed to be a never ending sea of papers. Although I do take a lot of pride in my papers, I usually only write when it is required of me and the occasional blog on social media. For whatever reason, I find it much easier to discuss certain topics and jot down my thoughts and opinions on them than to tell you about myself. There are many instances, such as now, that I experience extreme writer’s block and find myself gazing at my computer screen anywhere from five to fifteen minutes before I can form a coherent thought about myself. I do however think of myself as a strong writer. I believe that this class has allowed me to reach within myself and write about what interests me while leaving a piece of myself with each assignment. My self exploration began with my very first essay, a memoir assignment.

Upon first glance, the memoir assignment initially intimidated me. Based on my prior work, many would believe that it is easy for me to take a topic and just run away leaving a path of details behind, and for the most part, it is. However, when writing about myself, I experience extreme writer’s block. With this particular essay, I remember spending anywhere from four to five hours writing until I had forgotten any other aspect about myself other than the trip I discussed. I was asked to write about curiosity, so I discussed the questions I had regarding life and the curiosity within myself. When all was said and done, I felt that I left my emotions on the paper. As if it were more of a journal entry than a classroom assignment. This assignment left such an impression on me, that I carried a piece of it with me to my second assignment.

Much like my first essay, essay two was about curiosity within ourselves, but with a delightful twist. With a lingering sense of pride from essay one, I decided to take a piece of it with me to my next assignment. In essay two, I wrote about how curiosity sets us apart from others while bringing us closer to one another all at once. Without our knowledge, curiosity has implanted itself in our everyday lives and has carved out the little details of our being. Unfortunately, I cannot go into great detail without giving away my key points and I would just simply prefer you to all go into this essay with fresh eyes and to be surprised by what you will read next, as if it were a mystery novel I suppose.

In my fourth and final essay, I chose to write about the hot topic of welfare reform. What first initially peaked my interest in writing about welfare reform was an article I came across on social media. As I began reading, I learned about a woman that was living off of government assistance for thirteen years in Kent, England and was asking taxpayers for a grand request, to fund her dream wedding. Working two jobs and going to school full time, this article initially dug right under my skin. I was curious as to why someone who obviously did not understand the purpose of welfare was still receiving assistance. Now, I know that I am not a big public figure and all, but I believe I made some solid suggestions and points in how we can try to improve how we run the welfare system and make an overall difference for the better! I hope that you enjoy reading this article as much as I enjoyed sifting through essay upon essay to write it for you!

In closing, I am overall very satisfied with how far my writing has come from the beginning of this semester and I believe my self growth is expressed in my writing. Enjoy!

With Great Sincerity,

Marissa Nicole Scimone

Curiosity is implanted in us when we are first born, and as we age, it only grows bigger and bigger. My curiosity lead me to one of the most remarkable adventures of my life and in that moment, it brought light to questions about myself that I had always struggled to answer.

Growing up, I was surrounded by people who beamed happiness. Whether they had the best of the best, or were making the best of bad situations, everyone around me seemed to find an inner joy that they couldn’t shake. When they did have bad days, it seemed as if they would bounce back the very next day and come back better than ever. Consistently being surrounded by this behavior, I would have thought that the joy from others would soon rub off on me, but it never did. My bad days came in packs, making themselves comfortable for long visits. I’ve never been one to openly discuss my feelings, so sometimes it felt as if my own misery with myself was a form of company. Being alone for a majority of my younger years made it seemingly easy to openly welcome any form of company I could receive, even if that meant opening the door to sorrow. As odd as it may sound, I found comfort in sadness. But after a certain point in my life, I had grown tired of never being excited for anything anymore, never looking forward to something that was supposed to be fun. I knew someday that I would eventually feel happy again, I just wondered when that time would finally come. It wasn’t until the Spring of 2013 that my unanswered questions would come to light.

On April 12, 2013 I took the trip of a lifetime. I packed my bags and headed to the Logan airport in Boston where I would later arrive at my first destination, Dublin, Ireland. Before I could experience the beauty of Ireland, I had to endure the torture of a three hour layover in Chicago. The three hour layover and thirteen hour flight only left me with my own thoughts and ideas of what Europe would possibly be like. When I had arrived, all of my expectations had been blown out of the water. Never in my life did I think I would be first hand experiencing a new country. With the lack of money in my family I thought I would have been lucky to even see the west coast by the time I turned eighteen.

When I touched down, I spent some time in Ireland, Wales, and London. Never in my life have I seen such beauty. I was exposed to a fresh and exciting environment and I was surrounded by people who had a natural glow about them, and for the first time in a long time, I had one too. All of the negative thoughts and emotions that seemed to consume me had finally felt as if they were loosening their grip and allowing me to breathe. Europe had such character and finesse to it, nothing I was ever accustomed to. The aura of these countries made it damn near impossible to feel anything besides joy and it absolutely mesmerized me.

As much as I had wished my time in London, Wales, and especially Ireland would never end, my most anticipated stop had finally arrived, Paris! Although Paris turned out to be one of my least favorite explorations, I had discovered the answer to one of my greatest questions there. I had to travel to the top of the Eiffel Tower to finally understand. But before I could reach the top, I had to climb one thousand steps just to make it halfway up. When I made it halfway, I looked at the world around me and absorbed everything. I could see so much beauty just from my trip halfway up, I could only imagine what was to be seen when I made my trip to the very top. When I reached the top, everything I had envisioned had seemed to fade away. I was looking at the world for what is was and I had never felt so happy or fortunate to have been in that moment. At that moment, I realized the answer to my question. In that moment I had realized what it felt like to be genuinely happy with yourself and your life. For such a long time I wondered why we keep going when we reach certain points in our lives where we believe there is nothing left to live for, but I finally understood. I realized that there is so much more to discover and learn, so much more to experience. I could have given up halfway up the Eiffel Tower when I had thought I had seen enough, but there was so much that I would have lost out on. From that moment on, I had a more positive outlook about myself and my life. I made a promise to myself that I would never allow myself to reach such a low point in my life ever again, because there is so much I have yet to experience and there is so much more in store.

I am not going to say that my trip completely changed me, because it didn’t. I do still have bad days every now and then, but I never allow them to overpower me like they once did. I have seen myself at one of the lowest points in my life and now I can only look back on it with fondness and appreciation. I realized that sometimes you need to experience the bad in order to realize just how good you have it. My trip is something I will always take with me, because it not only holds the most beautiful of all memories, but it also carries some of my greatest discoveries.

It comes as no surprise that no two people are the same, not even identical twins. How can two people who share the same DNA be so different? Curiosity. Who we are and the things that capture our attention and interests are a direct reflection of curiosity. It is essentially where your personality stems from, how you present yourself, and how you go about your everyday life. It is not only what sets us apart from so many people, but it is also what brings us closer to others as well. The question that I will propose in this essay is simply, how? How does curiosity set one person apart from another and bring us closer to one another all at once? Also, how does curiosity affect us as individuals?

How does curiosity set us apart from others, yet bring us closer to one another all at once? Take a moment to analyze yourself, your life, and the people you surround yourself with. Now, focus on those you surround yourself with, particularly your best friend. You and your best friend share a variety of similar tastes, such as genres of music, your love for your local coffee shop, sharing an interest in tattoos and piercings, and so on and so forth. Ask yourselves, what is your ideal date? What qualities do you look for the most in a potential partner? What are your long and short term goals for your future? In a perfect world, what would your lives be like? After discussing your answers, you will discover that no matter how similar you both are, you are both also so incredibly different from one another. You two share very similar interests, but there will always be topics and things that interests one of you that does not particularly appeal to the other, and that’s okay. It is okay to share interests with one another, and it is also okay to venture off on your own and learn more about what interests and fascinates you. It is essentially what makes us who we are.

Now, just for a moment, take a step back and analyze your friendship with your best friend from the time you first met to this very second. You’ve bonded over your similar interests and tastes and you two couldn’t seem more alike. Now, think back to everything that you have taught one another, and the new experiences that you both have brought to the table. You two have extensive knowledge on countless different topics and subjects, and you two have experienced so much on your own, but together it is as if you two have a world of your own. You two push one another to achieve their dreams, overcome fears, and in time,become the person that the five year old you would be proud of. Your curiosity about the world has created not only a great friendship, but a bond. “In life I believe family and friends is the most important thing. Without family and friends you don’t have people who genuinely care about you or who would be there for you no matter what.” (Jayson). The people around you are a critical aspect of your life. They help you grow as a person, and they teach you how to love others, just as they love you. Although some relationships themselves do not stay forever, their memory has made an imprint on your life and that will last a lifetime.

Without our knowledge, curiosity has implanted itself into our everyday routines, occasional hobbies, inspires new conquests and is the core of our interests. For instance, discussing everyday routines, curiosity leads to your local coffee shop. It peaked your interest, so naturally, you decided to check it out. You found yourself scanning the menu until you came across something that you found to be interesting and to your surprise, you loved it. Before you knew it, you found yourself carving out time every morning to make a quick coffee stop before class or work. Next thing you know, you are on a first name basis with your barista and say, “good morning,” or hello to other frequent customers because they have now become an acquaintance to you. You’ve talked with another regular customer in line while waiting for your coffee, when you both realize that you have both been dying to get into yoga, and you both decide to give it a shot together and exchange numbers. After everything is said and done, you have made a new friend, and it would not have been possible without curiosity implanting itself in your everyday life. When you really think about it, curiosity plays a key role how we interact with others and with whom we build relationships with.

It is wonderful to share interests with someone else, hell, it is encouraged, but never lose sight of your own personal desires and fascinations. Wherever you go, always hold who you really are close. After all, it is what sets you apart from everyone else and that is all you can hope to be, an individual. Your curiosity has allowed you to express yourself however you wish and it has carved itself into the little details of your being. The range of curiosity is seemingly endless. It ranges from something so simple, such as how we express ourselves, to what we plan on doing with our lives. Take a moment to think about your bedroom. We design our bedrooms as if it was a physical representation as to what is going on inside of our minds. Upon walking into some people’s room, you can find their walls to be covered in posters of their favorite musical artists, paintings, and pictures. They have candles and books overflowing their bookshelves and what seems to be an infinite assortment of pillows on their bed. Most people design their bedrooms to be a temporary escape from the world around them, so naturally it is a reflection of themselves. It is one of the many ways that we express ourselves and to most, we take an exceptional amount of pride in our little masterpiece that we call our bedroom. However, some people do not choose to put their art on their walls, but instead they put it on their bodies, some express themselves through the work of tattoos. For those who do not go as far as tattoos, they express themselves through their wardrobe. It is actually a very cool concept that such various types of clothing, shoes, and accessories can accommodate to everyone’s own style and personal interests. However, not all self expression is physical. Where fashion and decoration fail, music speaks. Some of the greatest of self expression is through music. The world is filled with genre after genre of music and for some, lyrics speak for them when they cannot find the words themselves. Music speaks to everyone differently, and it is only then that you will discover what is left unsaid by not only yourself, but those around you. Self expression is our physical representation of who we are, and more often times than not, it speaks for us.

Curiosity inspires and also challenges us. More often times than not, curiosity is what inspires people to become a better version of themselves. It can inspire short term goals, such as picking up a guitar and wanting to learn your favorite song, finding yourself on a health kick to try and improve your personal health, or wanting to learn how to tumble. However, it can also lead us to much greater goals, such as getting into your dream college to study the field that you wish to spend the rest of your life working in and it is a beautiful thing. Curiosity even goes as far as in inspiring us to explore the world around us. As we are little, we could spend hours upon hours just exploring our home and backyard, but as we grow older, we wish to go further. “The overly curious mind exhibits a “lust to find out and know,” not for any practical purpose but merely for the sake of knowing. Thanks to the “disease of curiosity” people go to watch freaks in circuses and charlatans in the piazzas. “ (Eamon.) It will take us everywhere, from our backyards, to local events, all the way to another country. It inspires self growth of knowledge of not only ourselves, but also of the world around us.

Curiosity plays a key role in how we go about our everyday lives. “I believe we are all a sum of our experiences, and that we choose what experiences we have based on our curiosity.” (Buckman.) Our curiosities and interests are meant to be indulged. They subconsciously lead us to some of our best experiences and memories, such as seeing your favorite band play two hours away, just getting in your car on a whim to go to the beach in the dead of winter just because you miss the sound of the waves crashing around you, and a group of your friends taking a trip across the country because you’re both so eager to explore somewhere that you’re not so accustomed to. Curiosity makes you want to explore not only the world around you, but also the world inside of you. It is not until you indulge your interests that you discover who you truly are and where your curiosity can take you.

Your curiosity carves itself into the little details of your being, and we mustn’t be so afraid to express it. More often times than not, we are too intimidated to show who we really are to others in fear of being judged and ridiculed. Being yourself is one of the best things you can do. It is important to maintain a relationship with yourself and accept all of your corks, but more importantly, it is vital that you do whatever it is that makes you happy and remember to always love yourself. No two people were designed to be the exact same, so do not act as if you are any exception.

Work Cited Page

Eamon, William. “The Disease Called Curiosity.” WilliamEamon. 2 August 2010. Web. 8 March 2015.

Buckman, Sarah. “Curiosity and Self.” English 101. Edublogs. 14 March 2014. Web. 8 March 2015.

Jayson. “Portfolio: Curiosity Memoir “CCP:Memoir.” Edublogs. 8 May 2014. Web. 30 March 2015. (Last name not specified.)

In a time where a citizen’s dependency on its government increases, the incentive to work drastically declines. Welfare began long before the government welfare programs we know were created and were intended to lend a helping hand to families in need. But what happens when a system designed to help families in genuine need of assistance becomes a long-term way of life to those who are more than capable of finding a steady career? It comes as no surprise that a decent percentage of those receiving assistance from the government are in fact not in need at all. Certainly, there is no way to identify those who are falsely claiming they are in need without causing much controversy, but I propose a series of possible solutions. I propose that we strongly consider the reissuing of the TANF fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Fund, to issue jobs to those who are genuinely trying to find their way out of poverty, consider making charity work a requirement for those who apply for assistance, regulate EBT more efficiently and make it a requirement to those collecting to be drug tested. If we do not make modifications to how the welfare system is run, will it someday become a worldwide crutch?

When looking for potential cases to present in this paper, I came across an article that is more than infuriating to read by a working class citizen. In the fall of 2013, a radio station in Austin, Texas, KLBJ, held a discussion about welfare. They went on to say that with the federal programs provided today, people were coming to expect free money from the government. In the heat of discussion, they received a phone call from a listener. The listener introduced herself as Lucy, a thirty two year old wife and mother, who felt that she was being antagonized for living off of the government. She went on to explain that she lives on welfare and has found no reason to stop. Although she is perfectly capable of working, she personally receives over $1,200 a month in federal assistance and does not see any logical reason to put herself to work and says that she has no desire to contribute to society. With welfare, she is able stay home all day, spend time with her friends to smoke marijuana, and still get paid without going through strenuous labor. “As if this wasn’t audacious enough, Lucy said she’s disgusted by people who think she’s a bad person for living off tax dollars. She views working class people as idiots, even, because they work only to receive what she already has. She asked the radio hosts why she should work when she receives everything she needs for free. Lucy expects to be on welfare for the rest of her life, just like her parents.” (Erin). It is this mindset exactly that has created a major problem with how the welfare system is run today. Lucy was brought up with the mentality that the government will support those who are not willing to contribute to society and with this being passed down from her parents, the possibility that this mindset will be passed on from generation to generation in this particular family is unsettlingly high. It is cases such as this that makes the working class wonder why the government is being so incredibly lenient with where our money is going. We need to remember what this system was originally intended for and take action!

In a recent class discussion, a disturbing conversation was brought to our attention. My psychology professor spent a considerable amount of time talking of the government, issues that we are facing in America, and the popular topic of welfare. In the discussion of welfare, he brought up a conversation that he had recently overheard of what he believes to be a mother figure and young girl. When a young girl was asked what she wanted to be when she grows up, she responded without hesitation, “I want to be welfare.” I was in disbelief that a girl with the whole world in front of her, with the potential to be whatever she wanted to be, was dead set on being on welfare. My main concern was if she was taught that welfare is an acceptable way of life, how many others have that same thought instilled in them? How many young children will grow up thinking that the government is a personal security blanket? If we don’t make a change now, will we ever?

Before researching this topic, my main question was simply, “why haven’t we created a system in which we help those who apply for assistance to find a job?” To my surprise, there was a system that helped those in need find jobs, TANF. TANF, also known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Emergency Funds, was launched on December 12, 1999 had created nearly 250,000 jobs. “Support for the program is widespread and crosses political lines. Mayors of big cities like Philadelphia, Providence, R.I., and San Francisco, as well as governors in large and small states agree that this is a stimulus program that succeeds in creating jobs. The TANF Emergency Fund helps states encourage private hiring by reimbursing 80 percent of the costs of subsidizing new employment. The program targets low-income workers with children but is not limited to those receiving temporary assistance benefits. Thirty-five states have drawn more than a billion dollars from the fund, opening employment doors for a quarter-million Americans—including adults and some young people hired through summer youth programs.” (Owens and Wentworth). At least fifty percent of eligible welfare recipients from single parent families were required to be enrolled into work activities, as for two-parent families, the requirement was for ninety percent. According to statistics provided by Michael Tanner and Tad DeHaven, “After all the credits, waivers, and exemptions are taken into account, only 32 percent of welfare recipients were working in 2009. While this is low, it does represent a substantial improvement over pre-reform welfare. Under the old AFDC program, only about 10 percent of recipients were working.” (Tanner, DeHaven). While many were participating in “work activities” under welfare, a great percentage of those participants were not in fact working, but were still collecting. “The work component of welfare reform was a big step in the right direction, but the actual changes to work behavior have been modest.” (Tanner, DeHaven). Due to these statistics, the TANF fund expired September 30, 2010, leaving many participants in fact unemployed once again. In my personal opinion, I think we should reinstate a program such as TANF, but enforce stricter requirements, or maybe even attempt to give a bigger incentive to work. The mindset of many Americans today is that if they are collecting checks from the government while not lifting a finger, what is the sense in searching for a job? We need to motivate one another and teach our children the value of money and a good work ethic before we initially implode on ourselves. We need to put America back to work!

An interesting concept that I stumbled upon in my research was replacing welfare with private charity work. An unknown source speaks of a brilliant point made by Michael Tanner, an author and senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and Tad DeHaven, budget analyst for the Cato Institute, in the article, “Private Charity Should Replace Welfare,” they contend that private charities are more helpful to low-income families and individuals than government welfare programs. Tanner and DeHaven argue that private aid organizations understand that true charity starts with the understanding that people must develop self sufficiency and make wise life choices, and should not simply be handed a check every month. The authors maintain that private charities are better equipped to provide individualized aid and adjust eligibility standards to meet specific needs. In addition, they state that private charities are more efficient than government aid programs, so more of the donated funds can be used to benefit the recipients directly.” (Private Charity Should Replace Welfare). The concept of charity work replacing welfare did not go into great depths as to how it would benefit the recipients directly, but I would imagine the concept would be one of two ideas: being paid for working hand and hand with the charity organization and/or being able to take what they need to live sufficiently from the donations they receive. Welfare is great for temporary assistance, but many make it a long-term commitment and soon lose all incentive to work. With charity work, they are required to work for what they receive and on top of gaining work experience under their belt, they are exposed to a handful of people who are potentially in the same position that they are, whether it be financial or so on and so forth. With being exposed to others that share similar experiences, they might be able to share how they got themselves out of poverty and created a better life for themselves. Overall, I think charity work would benefit individuals in more ways than one. It certainly will not be for everybody, but for a select few it may be just what they need.

For my final suggestion, I think it would be in our benefit to monitor EBT spending. I say this because I know of someone personally who spends her collection checks on miscellaneous things for not only herself, but her friends. When going out with friends, she offers to pay for coffee dates and countless other things for her entire group. As a freshman in high school, she dropped out and has since not been employed. She qualified for government assistance and has not attempted to find employment. For reasons such as this, I think it would be beneficial to monitor spending for the first six month or year to see what these collection checks are in fact going towards. If they are being used in liquor stores, sports bars, and other such luxuries, I think they should either be cut from the program entirely or lower the amount they receive. I know that this would spark controversy but watching people collect when they are perfectly capable of maintaining a job while I work two jobs to pay for everything I have is infuriating.

I am aware that in this paper I have brought up a series of good points, followed by a series of controversial ideas. I know that I may be off base, and that is probably why I will never thrive working in government and why I do not wish to pursue a career in the government, but I believe that it is time for change. We cannot pretend that there is not a giant problem in the way the welfare system is run. Many problems are being addressed and I applaud those trying to make a difference. But many underlined problems are just being swept under the rug that I feel should be brought to light. I am not suggesting that any of these points are vital and need to be pursued as soon as tomorrow, but to be considered as strong points to keep in mind. We need to make a valid effort to make a better future for ourselves. We need to put America back to work and back on track!

Work Cited Page

Erin, Adrienne. “Welfare Abuse Still a Serious Problem in the United States.” Western Journalism. N.p., 08 May 2014. Web. 07 May 2015.

Haerens, Margaret. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

Owens, Christine L., and George Wentworth. “The TANF Emergency Fund Creates Jobs and Should Be Reauthorized.” Welfare. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “It’s Not a Recovery Without Jobs.” Politico. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.

Tanner, Michael, and Tad DeHaven. “Private Charity Should Replace Welfare.” Welfare. Ed. Margaret Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from “TANF and Federal Welfare.” Cato Institute. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.

Tanner, Michael, and Tad DeHaven. “TANF and Federal Welfare.” Downsizing the Federal Government. Cato Institute, Sept. 2010. Web. 01 May 2015.

“Welfare Information.” US Welfare System. WelfareInfo.org, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.