Flowery A trampled rose Roots intact Cries Survives.

The Saddest Thing Despite all of the horrors of the world, I feel at my saddest when I see an old person on the tube or bus wearing shoes but no socks. I can't explain why this makes me so sad. They seem happy.

Fat Kids Letting your kids get morbidly obese is child abuse. If a child turned up to class so thin that they were sick, social services would be contacted. The child would cared for and nursed back to health. Children that are so fat that they are classed as morbidly obese are at serious health risks in both the short and long term. They require just as much care as malnourished children, and yet there seems to exist more hesitation in alerting social services.

Where's The Value I once asked a philosophy professor, 'Can you give me one clear cut example of what differentiates humans from other animals?' She replied 'The ability to reflect on poetry.' 'Fair enough' I said. The value of writing seems to be obvious. Dickens, Keats, Twain, Shakespeare... Many of the most celebrated figures from history achieved their place in our hearts by communicating beautiful words. So here's the puzzle: why, if the value of writing is so self-evident, are degrees that include mostly writing skills regarded as 'valueless', or 'indulgent'? I suppose because they don't really contribute anything to the economy, right? As a philosophy undergrad, I can tell you the difference between an 'a priori' and an 'a posteriori' proof, but that's hardly going to put bread on the table. So, is the government justified in placing a priority on degrees like engineering and the sciences?

Motivations Do you write for yourself, or for your audience? Would you still write if there was nobody there to read?