One man's trash, another man's treasure By Danny F.

There many things that we attach value to. Everything we own has some value. Some things have more value to us than logic would predict. We may find things, people, ideas, currency, or even states of mind to hold value, and there are many reasons that they hold value to us and us alone, while they may be worthless to others.

I place a grate deal on my house, property, and surrounding area and environment.

My housed not only provides essential protection from the elements, privacy, and a safe comfortable environment for living, but it is also literally the center of my family’s lives. It is our home base, and all of our activities originate from the one building. We rest, eat, sleep, breath, learn, relax, live in, hang out around and love our house. Shelter is necessary for human survival. A house is a convenient luxury in our lives. Although it is worth thousands of dollar, we place much more value on it than that.

Another thing I place a different type of value on is my dog, Maizy. When I first got her, a year ago I took her on a walk around the property and we have been taking her on walks every day since. Sometimes I go all the way to the mountain house (Our house is at the bottom of the dirt road that leads to the Mountain road. Off of it split numerous paths that are very good for hiking). We like our walks. It gives both of us exercise and depletes some of her extensive energy. There is a good view, and it is one of the few times I can be in nature for no reason other then to enjoy it. One day we brought home some spare tennis balls from tennis practice. Maizy soon found them and instantly developed an increasingly strong attraction to their associated activities. We play fetch, even though she hasn’t learned to consistently bring the balls back. She plays with them by herself, throwing them down the stairs then going after them in a race against gravity. It is very fun and entertaining for us and Maizy. I have already spent a lot of time after school, with her, with our half hour walks and time playing ball. I have spent a lot of energy on her, and my family has spent a lot of money on her and to keep her healthy. We originally got her for about $600 and have spent about $1000 on dog food and vet care, but because of her love and they joy she has brought to our family, she is worth much more to us now.

My house and my dog hold value to me for very different reasons. My house is more of a necessity. My family and I need it for many reasons and have invested a lot of money in it. While my dog holds no purpose. There is really no logical reason to have a dog. All they do is take up time and energy. Maizy’s value is more sentimental and emotional. I love her and I think my time with her is well spent.

Everything I own has some value to me. If it didn’t have at least some value, I would get rid of it. Some things hold more value to me than others, and not always for obvious or logical reasons. But there are some commonalities in why things hold value. I believe there are 6 reasons something holds value.

The first is rarity. Something may have absolutely no purpose or use to us, and we may not have spent any time or energy on it, yet it still holds value simply because it is rare and hard to obtain. For instance, Pears, other than looking good, have no real use to us. Their high price can not be accounted for by their shear beauty. Other things of equal beauty have much lower prices. But pears are very rare, so they very are valuable.

The second is potential power, usefulness, or security. This is probably the most common type of value. If something could possibly give you more power of any type, could bring you any benefit, could bring you any kind of security, or could be used to bring you more power or some benefit, and then you will place value on it. For example, many people in 3^rd world counties would pay large sums of money, even more than we would pay, for a rifle, because it would give them a tool for hunting and power over other people without weapons. It would give them security financial and survival security.

The third is sentimental value. Basically, if you have spent a lot of time or energy on something, or love it, even if it is useless and common, then you and you alone will place value on it. When I was little, I would take pride and place value on my lego creations, even though they could not be used for anything, legos are extremely common toys, and it could not bring me any power, benefit, or security. But I spent a lot of time and energy creating it, so I would miss it if I lost it. A pet, like Maizy, is another example. I love her, and so place value on her.

The fourth is Need. If you need something, then you will place grate value on it. Food, water, and shelter are examples.

The fifth is Illusion. If we think that something has one of the 4 other types of value, then we will think it has value, even if it does not. For instance, if we see something in a commercial that tells us we want it for some reason, then we will believe it and think we want it, even if we don’t.

Value comes in many different forms, and we hold it to different things for different reasons.