Why purchase brand water when you can get it free? It's probably from the same source anyway...

 Bottled water’s biggest competition is tap water. Somehow companies have led the public to believe that tap water is unsafe. Not true. It’s safe, accessible, and FREE. No brainer.

Every time I arrange to meet someone I find it very difficult to think of activities to participate in WITHOUT spending money, especially during the winter. It seems impossible. I don’t want to go to the movies (especially if I want to enjoy someone’s company by speaking and interacting with them. Sitting next to the person in silence doesn’t count). I just find it strange that if you want to go out and spend time with someone, it usually goes in the direction of a coffee shop. If you are near a college campus there usually are a lot of free events available to the public. When it’s warmer out, go for walks or ride bikes. Volunteer for something like Books for Prisoners or other volunteer work. And if you want to see a movie, try the BookMill on Sunday nights for their free screenings or the UMass Multicultural Film Festival Wednesday nights.

I’m getting pretty tired of being told what to wear or buy in order to define myself. I understand that Identity is not exactly how you see yourself, but how others see you. We are always conscious of how we appear to others so it seems necessary to buy objects and clothes that portray a certain idea and image. It’s how we judge each other and it’s how we relate to each other. The discouraging thing is, it seems that no matter what you do, you are always going to judge and be judged for how you present yourself. Just make sure it’s YOUR choice and not some ad or store telling you how to go about doing it.

Again, don’t let someone else tell you what to like. My brother was recently offered a some free music from itunes. It turns out that yes, he got free music, but the music wasn’t of his choice. He received free tracks from a list compiled by itunes. Music is something that is important to me, so I resent it when I am told what’s popular, what’s good, what’s worth-while. You miss out on so much if you allow this to limit your choices.