My Challenge

  My name is Ashley Moskal. I am 18 years old and a full time student at Oakland University. I work five days a week and am a part of the Oakland Cheer team. For our writing class we were given a challenge to alter something in our every day life for a week. After thinking for awhile about what I wanted to do, I decided to go a week without consuming any materials.

       Ever since I was 16 and got my own car, I have a bad habit of spending my money on unnecessary things. I will find myself driving to go get food when I have plenty of food in my cabinet at home, or buying clothes when I already have something similar to it in my closet.Going a week without buying anything will be really hard for me. I don't want to have any loop holes in this experiment so along with myself not consuming, I will also not accept anything from my friends.
     
       In this blog I will post about  my struggles, experiences, and thoughts throughout this experiment. In this experiment I will go through seven straight days of using the materials I already own. I chose to do this because I want to put myself in the shoes of those who can only spend money on necessary items. I want to be able to understand how hard it is to live in poverty and in hope that after this week goes by to limit my spending.

       Hopefully after this experiment I will stop and think to what I will use my extra money on. Maybe i will decide to use the extra money I have to donate to those in poverty instead of spending it for myself. Or maybe I will put it in the bank and save up for something in the future. Even if I don't have much money to donate, I would like to finally reach out and volunteer in a soup kitchen. I am hoping that this project will open my eyes to how half of our country is living in poverty and to not take what I have for granted. I expect to learn how to manage my money and how to save it instead of spend it.
   
       From being a large consumer, I might have possible difficulties throughout this experiment. I eat in the Oakland Center every day between classes. Some mornings I wake up late and forget to pack a lunch. Normally I wouldn't worry about it and buy something here at Oakland. If I do this during the next week, I will have to wait until after school to have anything to eat. Another difficulty is if my family brings home dinner that they bought and didn't cook. I will have to pass up that food and cook something on my own. Driving and using gas may be another difficulty. I will have to fill up my tank before I start this challenge so I can get to and from school.