Penny For My Thoughts?

Friends, I've been on a blogging high today.  I had to write a blog post (on a school-based blog) about a reading that I did for my Honors class, just as I do every week.  Usually, the readings we do are boring and (in my opinion) irrelevant to my life.  But this week, our mentor picked the topic.  And you know what?  I'm quite pleased!  Finally I got to read and write about something that I actually care about.
And let me tell you, I'm pretty sure I wrote a really solid post about this topic.  So of course I have to share it with you!  So without further ado, here's the brilliant post I wrote for Honors today.  :)

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The Penny is on its Death Bed and I Think I'll be Fine

First off, a million thanks go out to Jacque for choosing a topic that's actually interesting and relevant to our lives!  The American penny has lost most of its value over the years.  Actually, according to this YouTube video, it costs 1.7 cents just to make a penny.  Much of America is convinced that it's time to lay our old friend to rest.

I'm feeling a cause-and-effect vibe today, so bear with me as I crank out a bullet-pointed list to explain how I feel about the death of the penny.

What Will Happen if We Get Rid of the Penny

• Our wallets will weigh a lot less.  Once we finally ditch those little things, we'll be left with a few nickels, dimes and quarters.  I am not opposed to this idea at all.  Less pennies in my wallet=less weight=more room for me to put other random stuff in my purse.
• The old ladies and foreigners who like to give exact change will lose their math skills.  Sorry, Granny, but you were taking forever to dig out all that change anyway.  The line will move much faster now, so we can all get on with the rest of our lives.
• My dad's collection of pressed pennies will slowly come to an end.  The die-hard collectors are few and far between, but they're out there.  Perhaps some sort of therapy will be necessary.
• Everyone will forget about Abraham Lincoln.  No one will forget about Abraham Lincoln, unless they didn't even know who he was in the first place.  Let's think about this for a minute.  This guy is, arguably, the most famous president in American history.  Aside from the fact that his face will always be on the $5 bill (which extreme penny-lovers seem to ignore), I'm pretty sure getting rid of the penny would not erase him from textbooks, official historical documents, and oh yeah...the Internet.  Also, eliminating a piece of currency does not simply make an entire society forget about a major historical figure.  So that argument is dead.
• People won't make as many wishes at public fountains.  Without pennies to throw in there, we'll have to resort to nickels and dimes.  But knowing how frugal many people are these days, I would imagine that most moms won't be giving out coins to their kids as freely anymore.  I guess we'll just have to rely on eyelashes, wishbones and shooting stars.  Oh well.

Friends, the penny is on its death bed.  And I think we'll all be just fine.

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So there you have it!  Proof that I don't save all my brilliance for this blog.  ;)

Stay tuned for the coming series of my final posts of freshman year.  Until then, cheers!