Trash Has Potential/垃圾有潛力
by Steve Wang
When a rock is going to drop off a cliff, it has potential energy. It is just like when trash is sitting in your house it has potential value. If you push the rock in the right direction, the potential energy becomes energy. It is exactly the same with trash. If you push it in the right direction, it will become new value. This is what I have learnt at school. After a few different experiences I have had at school, my opinion and thoughts on value have changed. If you understand the situation I was in, you might feel the same and I think this is very important because it will allow you to see things in a different light. It will also allow you to find value in things that you have considered trash. To allow you to understand the situation, I am going to give a backstory, write about the experience, then tell you about my feelings.
I should give some background before I start the story. I was a normal kid that went to school. Went home, did my homework and played video games. When I have things I do not need, I throw them into the trash. I did not recycle the items that could be recycled because I was lazy. There were also a bunch of old things I wanted to throw away but some people in my home refused to. This frustrated me sometimes because I thought trash was trash and trash was useless. I also firmly believed that trash that provided no value deserved to be thrown away.
At school, we had a few different important discussions. One of them was about the value of items. We found out that different people had different perceptions of value. For example, someone who bought a fake high end bag on purpose. Some people said that it has no value but some people said it has value because the owner was happy with it. We also researched about background, education, and life experiences and how they affect our thinking, likes, and dislikes. That helped me realise that their experiences will affect their values and perception of value a lot. Another activity that we had to do was dig through our old stuff and during that activity I found things that brought back some memories. When I found those memories, I found value in things I considered trash. Another example is, we went to a second hand store called Hard Off, to sell our old stuff. With that old stuff, we got money. With that action we helped create new value with old trash we do not need.
Those experiences changed my view on the value of trash. I realized that trash has value. One kind of value in the trash I had at home was a souvenir from a trip. It brought back a memory of a vacation a few years ago. Another example is the activity we did at Hard Off. When we sold our old trash, we got money. It also allowed the trash that we sold to turn into something useful for someone else. We were giving old pieces of trash a new chance in life. Now, I look at some of the old things at home, I do not try to throw them away anymore because I understand that they may have some value. I now try to recycle more because now I understand that trash has value and I can create new value by recycling.
In conclusion, I now still believe that trash that provided no value deserved to be thrown away but, I have now learnt to see value in things I have not seen before. I have recorded down what I thought before I have experienced these things, my experience and after. Maybe you should try to experience them too. However, if you cannot do so, try to see things from another point of view and try to find value in them. If you cannot, maybe it is time it had a new life. So, turn the potential value into value. Create or find value in your trash because all trash has value. Push the rock and create new value.
Chinese Version
當一塊石頭要從懸崖上掉下來時，它具有勢能。就像垃圾放在你家一樣，它具有潛在價值。如果你把石頭推向正確的方向，勢能就會變成能量。這與垃圾完全相同。如果你把它推向正確的方向，它就會成為新的價值。然而，當那塊石頭落下時，它可能會導致其他問題。例如，沒有那塊石頭，其他東西可能會開始滑落，然後變成雪崩。沒有從懸崖上掉下來的岩石有價值，只是我們可能看不到它。在學校經歷了幾次不同的經歷後，我對價值的看法和想法發生了變化。如果你理解我當時的處境，你可能也會有同樣的感覺。
在我開始這個故事之前，我應該先介紹一些背景。我是一個正常上學的孩子。回家，做作業，玩電子遊戲。當我有不需要的東西時，我會把它們扔進垃圾桶。我沒有回收可以回收的物品，因為我很懶。還有一堆我想扔掉的舊東西，但我家裡有些人拒絕了。這有時讓我感到沮喪，因為我認為垃圾是垃圾，垃圾是無用的。我也堅信，沒有價值的垃圾應該扔掉。
在學校，我們進行了一些不同的重要討論。其中之一是關於物品的價值。我們發現不同的人對價值有不同的看法。例如，有人故意買了一個假的高端包。有人說它沒有價值，有人說它有價值。我們還研究了背景、教育和生活經歷，以及它們如何影響我們的思維、好惡。這幫助我意識到他們的經歷會極大地影響他們的價值觀和價值觀。我們必須做的另一項活動是挖掘我們的舊東西，在這項活動中，我發現了一些帶回一些回憶的東西。當我找到那些記憶時，我發現了我認為垃圾的東西的價值。另一個例子是，我們去了一家名為 Hard Off 的二手店，出售我們的舊東西。有了這些舊東西，我們就有錢了。通過這一行動，我們幫助我們用不需要的舊垃圾創造了新價值。
這些經歷改變了我對垃圾價值的看法。我意識到垃圾是有價值的。我在家裡的垃圾桶中的一種價值是旅行的紀念品。它勾起了幾年前度假的記憶。另一個例子是我們在 Hard Off 所做的活動。當我們賣掉舊垃圾時，我們得到了錢。它還允許我們出售的垃圾變成對其他人有用的東西。我們給了舊垃圾一個新的生活機會。現在，我看看家裡的一些舊東西，我不再試圖扔掉它們，因為我知道它們可能有一些價值。我現在嘗試更多地回收利用，因為現在我明白垃圾是有價值的，我可以通過回收創造新的價值。
總之，我現在仍然相信沒有價值的垃圾應該被扔掉，但是，我現在學會了在我以前從未見過的事物中看到價值。我把我經歷這些事情之前，我的經歷和之後的想法記錄下來。也許你也應該嘗試體驗它們。但是，如果您做不到，請嘗試從另一個角度看待事物並嘗試從中找到價值。如果你不能，也許是時候它有一個新的生活。你可以回收它或出售它。用你的垃圾創造新的價值，因為所有的垃圾都有價值。