I once asked my middle school teacher if I could borrow a sheet of paper, she told me that I couldn't borrow it but that I could have it instead. You see in order for me to borrow the sheet of paper I would have to return it in the same or better condition that it was given to me in and seeing that I was going to draw on it, definitely meant I wasn't going to do either. So it begs the question, why do people constantly take but never return? Whether it refers to a sheet of paper, a cigarette lighter, pens and pencils, time or money, I feel like we live in a world where most people constantly take from others and disguise it as borrowing so we don't have to be honest and tell them they will never get their things back.

By the time I was in the ninth grade I had a friend who owed me around $220 just from lending them a few dollars here and there. I didn't even realize how much money they owed me until another friend of mine said how much that person owed them. How is it that someone can beg for something and agree to the terms provided to them but then just throw all their morals out of the window and stop caring? Like the saying goes "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." So maybe it's the giver's fault. Maybe the giver is too trusting and doesn't want to face the fact that the taker is a phony. Maybe the giver enjoys giving people what the want just so they can get mad with the taker about it and treat them badly.

There are some things people ask to borrow that simply can't be done. For instance, a co-worker asks for a moment of your time in order to sign some papers but how are they going to return it? As far as I know we can't travel back in time yet so i'd like them to please use it well because i'll never get those moments back. I find myself working extremely hard on several things such as school, work, family, friends and other relationships but it feels as if i'm always giving and never taking, always sparing a moment of time but never getting a break, even if i'm in desperate need of one. So what do I do now? After I have nothing left to give? Should I just stay down, or get back up on my feet and demand all my money, time, patience and effort back? Should I tell all the people who give me stress in return instead of a "thank you" that they need to start treating me differently otherwise I won't be there for them anymore? Or should I stay silent and pretend like them taking me for granted is normal and doesn't bother me? Just ten minutes. All I need is ten minutes.