Response to Hana

                I was spanked as a child multiple times.  I was not a well behaved child, I was always told I have an “attitude” problem.  My mom used to spank me when I would whine or just not do what she told me.  Being spanked was a normal part of my childhood.  I never really learned from the spanking, I kept repeating whatever I did wrong.  My mom eventually figured out this was not working and stop spanking me. 

            I think spanking is very acceptable and it’s by the discretion of the parents to see how much they spank their children or if at all.  But there is a thin line between spanking and abusing your child.  Child abuse is very terrible and should never happen and spanking can lead to child abuse if a bad parent gets too eager to spank their children. 

Parents should spank because it instills respect for authority.  With authority comes responsibility, these authority figures need to learn how to spank effectively.  They need to instill the threat of spanking and try to reinforce the threat without actually spanking.  Parents that can spank and then remind the children of the threat of spanking to make them act respectful is the ideal way to discipline your child using corporal punishment.  Certain parents do not understand that they spank their child too much and it turns into child abuse. 

I think spanking is a very good thing and when it is used the proper way children will behave the correct way and respect authority.  Spanking is a tool that can be used properly to teach children how to behave.  I think I will definitely spank my children as a parent but only as a last resort and try and threaten spanking more than actually doing it.    

Response to Kat

I agree with Kat studying abroad is a very important.  I haven’t taken classes in another country but I have been a few places around the world and the experiences I've had were extremely fun, and memorable.  In 2010, I went to South Africa.  I spent tens days over my Easter break helping grow relationships with the underprivileged people of South Africa and created relationships and made experiences I will never forget.  Throughout the trip we built houses and planted gardens for the people to better their lives. 

I also went to Spain and Italy summer of my senior year.  We went to Barcelona and traveled all throughout Italy.  I went to all the famous land marks and enjoyed every second of it.  But that is not what I take back most from that trip.  I learned how to overcome language barriers with many Spanish and Italians, buying stamps could not be any more complicated.  But I also learned how to manage my money and not spend it all on the first thing I saw.  I learned how to barter with street venders and get the best deals on fake sunglasses. 

These two experiences have taught me a lot and I believe they have helped me discover who I really am, and helped me mature as a person and as a man.  These trips helped me and I would like to go study abroad sometime because I feel as though I would return with similar and hopefully better experiences.  Going abroad just would open my mind up to many new ways of thinking and new cultures, and I think that is very important especially for college students as they are discovering who they are themselves and what they want to be doing for the rest of their lives.        

Response to Jack

I disagree with Jack the money that these sports players make is something they have earned.  Yes it seems like they aren't working but being a NFL player is a year round job.  These player deserve the money they are making.  Their job is their body, they must maintain and workout everyday of every year.  They sacrifice their body for the entertainment of the people.  At any moment they could injure themselves, and live with a handicap for the rest of their lives.

            These athletes deserve a portion of the money of the entertainment industry.  Sports is the biggest entertainment industry, think of the jerseys and memorabilia that millions of people buy.  The spending on this merchandise is outrageous and the percentage of the total money made by the leagues is multiple times greater than the amount the athletes themselves are being paid.  The leagues are profiting of the name of big players with jersey sales and you want to watch the game to see how certain players perform. 

            Another fact is that yes these athletes are being paid millions by the leagues.  But where they make their real money is with endorsements.  Athlete’s endorsements are how they make a majority of their money.  To stop this athlete over-payment would also be impossible, once you stop paying the athletes you kill the sports industry.   The Super Bowl wouldn't be as competitive, the World Series wouldn't matter as much, and no one would watch the NBA Finals (not like many people do anyway).  But each of these events have millions of billions of dollars spent on advertising and hype up to the game.  I think that these athletes deserve a portion of this money that companies are spending/profiting off of when the athletes are performing or doing their job. 

            Athletes deserve the money they make because they are sacrificing their lives for the entertainment of the people.  The money they make is not just from the league and teams it is from the endorsements.  The reason they have so much money is because we are willing to pay them.  If you think athletes are being paid too much you need to make a movement to get everyone to stop watching sporting events.