Cloth Bags: Helping the Environment While Helping Shoplifters?

Lately, we've all been trying to do what we can to try and help the environment. So what if we waited until we were told the world is on the verge of destruction before we really started caring? Now we use energy efficient light bulbs, we turn off the water when we brush our teeth, and one of the most popular ways of "going green" is the use of re-usable cloth/hemp/recycled materials bags in grocery stores. Instead of the wasteful plastic grocery bags we used to use (which are starting be to outlawed), we now bring in our own bag to tote our groceries in. This way we're not overflowing the landfills with these plastic bags which are not biodegradable, and we save energy by not producing plastic bags. It really is an easy way to help out, and many times the grocery store will take a few cents off of your total if you use these bags!

I myself have several bags for several different stores, and I try to keep them in my car, otherwise I forget them and end up having to bring my purchases home in a one-use bag. They really are nice to have, and there aren't as many plastic bags balled-up on the floor of my car. However, while I'm shopping, I can't help but to think how easy it would be for somebody to come in the store with one of these bags and shoplift. Instead of using a basket I actually put the items I intend to buy inside my shopping bag. What if it was a busy day and I just walked out of the store with a bag full of items I didn't pay for? How easy would that be for somebody to either pretend they're just browsing and leave with small items hidden in their reusable bag, or to act as if they've already been rung up? This is against my nature personally, but we all know in the end, we end up paying for the dishonest people in the world. I predict that the loss prevention teams at these stores will be tightening things up quite a bit once they figure this out. I see more places checking receipts at the doors, and putting security tags (that cause the alarm to go off when leaving the store) will be put on more items. Also, more stores may have reusable bags that are net-like, in order to make it more difficult to hide items in the bags. Who knows what they'll resort to, but I'm sure they'll figure out some way to make suspects out of people just trying to be more efficient.

I'm definitely not trying to encourage criminal activity, but I'm just pointing out a crime waiting to happen. If you ARE somebody who takes advantage of re-usable bags in such a way, I think you're a loser.

Recycle!

Don't get stuck

It's too easy to get stuck in your current situation. It's too easy to go about life living in a way that just gets you by. It's too easy to go your whole life without even starting to reach your potential.

Many people I know, myself included, still choose to live life this way. Why? Maybe because it doesn't require as many risks or as much effort, though I know I personally use a tremendous amount of effort to constantly explain why I don't do anything special. Why not just go for it and make the effort to become somebody I'm proud of? It's a product of extreme laziness in my case, but it differs from person to person.

I have a friend who is an excellent example of somebody who works hard and takes risks. This is a girl who has worked her BUTT off her whole high school career with AP classes and extra curricular activities, and still ended up having to go to a local community college for financial reasons. She's wanted nothing more then to break out of the small town we live in and do something important and meaningful with her life, but she kept being weighed down by various set backs. FINALLY she had completed the classes she needed in order to transfer to a university, and she started slaving over the applications. This isn't a job application when you answer a few questions and fill in the blanks, these take an enormous amount of time to complete. She decided why not shoot for the stars and apply to some amazing schools? She had put a maximum amount of effort into her education, so she felt she may have a shot. She took a risk and applied to Harvard and NYU. These schools were like a fantasy, so ideal and out of reach. She had heard of a new financial aid initiative that Harvard had taken on, so she felt like it was a golden opportunity to only be judged by the hard work she's put forth and the grades she had earned. She spend weeks writing essays, and getting credits from her current schooling transferred, and financial information for these schools. She was so excited about the opportunity to do something huge.

When I saw her a week or so after she had submitted both applications, she looked gloomy. She told me that Harvard wasn't accepting transfers at this time, so the application she had slaved over and put her blood sweat and tears into wasn't even read. She felt defeated. Why had she worked so hard her whole life to end up in the same place as those who hadn't? Why was she going to have to settle on state college she didn't want to go to? I was asking the same questions in my head. It was discouraging to see somebody like her continue to be knocked down, when all she was trying to do was make something of herself. I knew no matter where she ended up she would thrive, and I told her that. I still felt saddened by the fact that she was stuck in the place of an average person, when she's clearly above average. I knew her hard work would pay off, but I wished it would've been in a way that proved to her that she's intelligent and a hard worker.

She and I hang out about once a month, and lately I've been helping her plan out her vacation to New York City with her sister. She's made a few trips there and she adores it, but she's never gone without meeting up with a friend or boyfriend who knew their way around. We were planning on going on a picnic tomorrow and discussing more details of her trip, so I was surprised to see her walk into my work earlier today. She works nearby, so I figured she must've just gotten off and maybe she wanted to check on our plans for tomorrow. After saying hello and all that good stuff, she smiled and said "I got into NYU." My heart almost lept out of my chest and I freaked out! Luckily there were no customers because I kept yelling "WHAT???!!!!! THAT'S SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!" FINALLY, after watching her struggle to find validation for her efforts, she had received it! Of course she immediately expressed worry about the cost, but even with the thought that she may not have financial aid, she was clearly beaming with pride that she'd been lacking. That look on her face, and the feeling she gave off, is worth all the setbacks she faced. She had earned a place in an extremely difficult school to get into, in a place that's like a dream land to her. I couldn't be happier for her.

I learned a lot from her experience. You can put forth 100% effort consistently, but your results may vary. It will always pay off in one way or another. At least you know you did your best during life to live up to your potential, which is more then many of us can say.