The Importance of Margin

如果要使用特定的词来描述人们在当今社会的状态,“忙碌”必须是第一个字,。对我们许多人来说,“忙碌”变成了褒义词描述成功的人。另一方面,“空闲”则变成了贬义词。这篇paper介绍了保证金给我们生活上带来了便利，好处以及不好的影响。

If asked to use certain words to describe people in today’s society, “busy” must be the first word that comes to my mind. For many of us, “busy” becomes the commendatory word  describing people who are successful. On the other hand, “idle” becomes the derogatory word which would sneer people. In the essay “In Praise of Margin,” American writer Ian Frazier argues about the importance of marginal behavior. According to Frazier, marginal behavior refers to the things a person doesn't do on purpose but for relaxation. Marginal places and activities are necessary because they allow people to rest and also explore different ideas in their minds so that they can be themselves and do whatever they want. As human beings, we cannot keep working without taking a rest. As a result,  I totally agree with Frazier’s idea that margins are needed in our lives. We don't have to do everything on purpose, and doing something for no reason can be a relaxation and it might bring us personal discovery and something productive.

First of all, margin could make people relax from daily busy life. At present, the majority of people don't just work for their living, but also for the development of their country. Most of them believe if the country is better, then they would be happier. However, in fact, this is not the reality. In the article “Happiness Index: Only 1 in 3 Americans Are Very Happy,” writer Carolyn Gregoire discusses about the Americans’ happiness index. “Overall, just 33 percent of Americans said that they were very happy, remaining consistent with happiness levels in 2011 but dropping from the 35 percent who reported being very happy in 2008 and 2009,” says Carolyn Gregoire. It is ironic that while the country’s economy is growing rapidly, people’s sense of happiness is dropping. With the fierce competition, people nowadays put too much effort in workings. Correspondingly,  they forget  how to enjoy their live and the margins of their lives are neglected. Therefore, sometimes we need to put down what we are busy doing at the moment and just spend some time doing what we really like to do even if it looks meaningless. Enjoying the margin means doing purposeless activities including singing, painting, dancing or even sleeping and emptying our brain etc. After doing them, we would obtain related relaxation and feel happy since these activities allow people to be released from the daily heavy stress and rest themselves. So it is with less worry and stress that we would be happier.

Secondly,  margin might bring people personal discovery. Most people believe that more money will make their lives better. Therefore, they try to make  money as much as possible. However, money  just fulfills people’s desire materially instead of spiritually. Gradually they could not discover their inner desire.  However, my father is just the reverse side case and he knows when to make money and when to stop to search for more valuable things. He has been working as the sales manager at a car company for many years. On weekends, the store tends to have more customers and more turnovers, so this situation always needs my father to work over time. One weekend, he decided not to go to work because he hasn’t rested for a long time and felt stressful. When enjoying his weekend, he had nothing to worry about. Purposelessly, he decided to spend his weekend with me, and later on, he discovered something more important than working, which is the family time. He also found that it would be valuable to see my different growing stages since he thought that once I grow up, there is no way of going back.  Since then nearly every weekend, no matter how busy the store is or how much the bonuses are, my father would spend certain time with me since he knows life needs margin and money is not everything. He understands that the margins in his life could let him enjoy the happy family time. So margin might make people discover something valuable.

Finally, doing something purposeless can result in doing something productive. In the article “the Importance of Free Time,” author Bhagwad Jal Park writes about how he refuses to work on Sunday because he thinks free time is more important than work. He uses his free time to learn guitar, play chess, write poetry, and do many other things. “It turns out that when I seem to waste time for such a long period, I paradoxically become more productive” says Park. Having free time lets people have chances to try something new that may be more productive than what they are working on. Like Park, I didn't attend summer school last year because I wanted to do my own things during the summer vocation. I used my summer time to try something new and it turned out that I got different things. One day I purposelessly scanned YouTube and then start watching random videos. Then I saw a video teaching people how to make earrings. After watching that video, I tried it myself. The result was very amazing that my earrings are so stunning that they are able to sell on E-Bay for a great price. Therefore, from my margin, I learned the way of making earrings, earned my first online selling experience and got some extra money while having free time. So margin could bring people something productive.

In conclusion, from the above demonstration, it can be clearly seen that margin indeed plays an important role in people’s daily life. Sometimes, apart from work blindly, we could slow down the speed in order to enjoy the things in our lives. What’s more, we need to learn to take advantage of  margins in life. Enjoying margins not only allows one to relax, but also leads to personal discovery and something productive. As a result, it is really the necessity to fully understand the  importance of margin and then make good use of it.

Works Cited

Frazier, Ian. “In Praise of Margins.” Write It. 4th ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2014. 56-58. Print.

Gregoire, Carolyn. "Happiness Index: Only 1 In 3 Americans Are Very Happy, According To Harris Poll." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 01 June 2013. Web. 01 June 2015.

Heumann, Michael. Moore, Kathleen. Strahan, Linda. Write It. 4th ed. 2014. Print.

Park, Bhagwad Jal. “The Importance of Free Time.” Write It. 4th ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall

Hunt, 2014. 105. Print.