Effects of Winning the Lottery

Winning the lottery can bring more than joy into someone’s life. In fact, it can make their lives a living nightmare. It can cause a great change on a person’s life. When someone goes from having no money or being middle class to having millions of dollars, it’s going to cause a great impact on their lives. The lottery can do more that just makes you rich, it can cause family issues, put someone’s life at risk, or even depression.
Winning the lottery can not always bring happiness into your life, especially between your friends and family. If you were unhappy before being rich, you’re more than likely to be unhappy after becoming a millionaire. In Daytona, Ohio a women was sent to prison for trying to kill her husband who had won $3.5 million in the lottery. She was chasing after his money (Pulfer). According to David Bass of The Pundit:
Juan Rodriguez wanted nothing more than to be one of the guys in rural South Texas
where he was raised. And he was — until six years ago, when he had the misfortune to
acquire almost $9 million in the Texas Lottery. Today, he’s lost his anonymity, his
buddies, whatever girlfriends he once had and most of his family, whose members he no
longer trusts. He rarely ventures outside the trailer here where he lives alone. Booze and
the four dogs he keeps chained outside are his main companions. “To tell you the truth, I
wish I didn’t win,” he said from his living room one recent evening, nursing the first of
nine Michelob Ultras he would drink by 10 p.m. (qtd. in “Winning the Lottery: A”)
While most people would often think that money would buy happiness, people who have won the lottery have become depressed. “But the truth is that winning an unimaginable sum of money places unimaginable stress on the lives of people who just aren't prepared for it (Meltzer) Not being able to budget properly can also add a huge effect. “If you've got problems before winning the lottery, you'll have problems after the lottery. Money isn't going to solve what's wrong in your life” (qtd. in “Winning the Lottery: Curse”). Not everyone knows how to manage their money. Sherri Granto of Associated Content says:
In fact nearly one third of multimillion dollar lottery winners become bankrupt in just a
short years after they’re big win. If you are not accustomed to having great wealth as
many of these big lottery winners were not, then the problems that come with suddenly
having a lot of money overnight can be so overwhelming that depression becomes
inevitable. (qtd in “Winning the Lottery: Curse”)
Some people who often win large amounts of money go crazy and buy whatever they want, without thinking about how they’re going to pay for it. Big spending has caused many lottery winners to go into bankruptcy. Lottery winners often want to spend their money on a big house, not thinking of the utility bills, taxes, and insurance they’re going to have to pay. Having a big house is nice, but someone has to be prepared to pay the big bills. After buying the big house, they’re going to want to buy nice new furniture to put in the house. Then they’ll buy the new expensive cars and everything else on their wish list. But what happens to the budget, are they going to be able to pay for all these expensive things? “Lottery winners eventually have financial difficulties due to the lack of budgeting and making a solid financial plan with their new winnings” (Granato).
Once someone wins the lottery, their life is at risk. They can say goodbye to privacy because now they’ll have to get an unlisted phone number, security system for their house, and a post office mailbox. It’s like they’re considered a celebrity (Granato). Someone people have even had to move away, hiding their last names or location because they have so much money. Someone lottery winners are even bothered by people who want them to pay money for their kids to go to college or for inventors who want them to fund their new creations. Meltzer even says that a woman called a family asking for money to escape her abusive husband (Meltzer).
In conclusion, winning the lottery can cause a huge damper on someone’s life. The effects of going from having no money to tons of money don’t always bring happiness like someone would think. It can make your life hell. Winning the lottery can change your life in a negative way, money doesn’t always buy happiness. It can actually cause distress, rather than joy.

Bass, David. “Winning the Lottery: A Surefire Way to Ruin Your Life.” Davidnbass.com.
14 Aug. 2004. WordPress. 23 June 2007 14/winning-the-lottery-a-sure-fire-way-to-ruin-your-life/>.
Granto, Sherri. “Winning the Lottery, Curse or a Blessing?.” Associatedcontent.com. 13 Oct.
2006. The People’s Media Company. 22 June 2007 < http://www.associatedcontent.com/
article/70165/winning_the_lottery_curse_or_a_blessing.html>.
Meltzer, Mark. “Lottery Winners Often Wind Up Wishing They Hadn't Been Lucky.”
Atlanta.bizjournals.com.19 May 2000. American City Business Journals, Inc. 23 June
2007 < http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2000/05/22/editorial1.html>.
Pulfer, Mike. “Winning Big Isn’t Ticket to Paradise.” Enquier.com. 25 Aug. 2005. Garnett Co.
Inc. 22 June 2007 big_isnt.html>.

Source Critique Four

“Hoodoo” is an article written in Wikipedia, which is trademark of the Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia also is a free encyclopedia available on the internet. The article was written on June 28, 2006. “Hoodoo” can be found at En.wikipedia.org.
In the article “Hoodoo,” is explains that hoodoo is the traditional folk magic practiced by Africans. The term hoodoo comes from the Ewe word Hudu. The article explains that hoodoo can be also known as conjuration, conjure, witchcraft, or rootwork. A characteristic of hoodoo is a small bag called a mojo. This bag contains herbs, roots, coins, often a lodestone, and other things used for magic. It is also said that hoodoo is passed from family member to family member. Hoodoo is often used to improve lives by gaining power in gambling, love, divination, cursing a person’s enemies, treatment for diseases, employment, and necromancy.
Although this source is an internet source, it is reliable because it provides information about hoodoo and gives links of where it came from. Some people often say that anyone can post anything on the internet, but this website is protected by the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. It is also registered under a trademark. If the information wasn’t reliable, it wouldn’t be protected by licenses and registered under trademarks.
The reason why I chose to use this article was because I felt it had a lot of information about hoodoo. It provided information on where it came from, who practices it, what it’s used for, and how it’s used. It also goes further into detail on what people use to do hoodoo, this gives me a better understanding on how the magic is done.

Source Critique Three

“Black Magic, New Orleans Style” is an article written by Alison Brouillette. The article comes from part of an online version of a book called Loyola University Student Historical Journal Volume 16. The book was published in the Spring-Fall of 1985 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In “Black Magic, New Orleans Style,” Brouillette talks about voodoo in New Orleans. She explains that voodoo is the practice of worshipping the devil by many Africans. Brouillette also talks about how voodoo was learned by the white people in Louisiana when they brought slaves over to the United States. Hoodoo is known come from the corruption of the Voodoo religion. She provides many stories about people who have tried to use voodoo on other people. One story was about a Guinean slave named Carlos who tried to kill his German plantation owner. Carlos tried to use the “gris-gris" effect to kill his owner; gris-gris meaning the placement of an evil spell upon someone through charms and incantations. She also goes on explaining other stories about voodoo.
This source is a reliable one because it comes from a book. The book was published by a university in Louisiana. A book that was published by a university isn’t going to be fibbed, because the people who wrote it know what they were talking about. It also means that whoever wrote in that book has some sort of education. Furthermore, that would provide evidence that this is a reliable source.
This source will be every useful to me because it provides a lot of information on voodoo. It tells where it came from and how it got to the United States. It also tells who practices, why it’s practiced, and where it’s practiced. This source also gives personal stories about people who have done voodoo in certain circumstances. Therefore, it will be able to answer many of my research questions on voodoo.

Repsonse on Angier

In “Why Men Don’t Last: Self-Destruction as a Way of Life”, Natalie Angier talks about how men die at an earlier age than women do. She says that although men are healthier and take care of themselves more than women do, they still tend to die faster. Angier also says that men are less likely to develop chronic diseases, suffer from depression, or attempt suicide. However, men still die earlier than women, despite their fitness. After Reich read some research done by psychologists, she thought that the reason why men die earlier is because they are more of risk takers. Men have a reputation to uphold and if they don’t take those risks, they are seen as weak and prissy. They don’t want to be seen this way, they want to be seen as masculine, and therefore they tend to take more risks.
I enjoyed reading this article by Reich. I think it was very interesting and it kept my full attention the whole time. Being that I might want to go into psychology, these studies really caught my eye. I was amazed to find out that women live longer than men do. Although men may be healthier and fit compared to women, women go through a lot more then men. For example, women experience everything from giving child birth, to being a full time mom, and maintaining a career. I was under the assumption that women would die earlier because they experience a lot more than men. Society also makes women seem inferior to men, which would also convince me that women would die earlier. Men are supposed to be strong and healthy, which would make me think they would live longer.

Interest Statement on Black Magic

Black magic is magic used to cause harm against other people. There are many different things you can do to a person using this kind of magic. I decided to learn more about black magic and write an essay about it. I’m going to write a Description Essay providing information on what black magic is, why people believe in it, and how it’s practiced. I will also tell where black magic came from and what it’s used for.
I knew nothing about black magic until I saw the movie The Skeleton Key. In fact, I didn’t even know it existed. I found the movie very interested, therefore I figured black magic would be a good topic to write about. After I saw the movie I thought to myself, do people actually believe in this? After doing a few research, I found out that people actually practice black magic.
Although I have only done a little bit of research on black magic, I think I will be able to find many sources. I found a few websites that give information on black magic; however, I’m also going to look in a library. I know I can probably find a lot of books on black magic. In addition, could look up more information on the movie The Skeleton Key. I could also continue to do research on the internet.
The only benefit that I will have from writing this paper is expanding my knowledge on black magic. After reading a little on this subject, the information provided kind of spooks me out. I don’t think that black magic is something I would want to get associated with. Therefore, I’m not writing this essay to learn how to do black magic. Well I am writing it to inform the audience, but not to learn how to do it myself.
The only concern I have is finding information about black magic on the internet. I have visited a few sights that have closed down their sections of black magic because children were trying to do “bad’ things with it. I have already come across two websites that have said this, so I wonder if there will be any more. I think this might prevent me from getting more information.
Since black magic appears to be a very informative subject, I believe that I will be able to find a lot of information on it from few sources. Although I think the research will be hard to find, I think the sources will provide plentiful information on black magic. Therefore, I don’t think that the essay will take very much time to write. However, I think my essay might be long because I will have a lot of to explain about black magic.

Response on Reich

In “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer,” Robert Reich talks about businesses in America trying to get more money. He gives examples of how companies hire people from other countries for a lower price. Before those companies hired foreign people, American workers used to be employed by them. These employees were fired and replaced by foreigners, who work for less. According to Reich, the employees, who are considered the “poor” people in America, are getting poorer because businesses are firing them for cheaper labor. The “rich” people, the ones who run these businesses, are getting richer because they are getting more of a profit for a cheaper price. He also says that although the number of jobs available is growing, the percentage of people who belong to a union has been declining since the 1960s. There is now a demanding number of people working for foreign owned companies. There are also a great number of companies who have foreign employees working for them. Reich also says that America’s businesses have now turned into a global enterprise.
After reading the article by Reich, I came to the conclusion that he had a lot of important things to say. Although his article was interesting, I felt it was very repetitive. I believe that Reich had a great point to his article, because it did keep me entertained, at first. After a while, I felt like he was saying the same things over and over again, it just got old. When I first started reading it, I thought to myself, Reich is a good writer. As a read more of the article, I found it was too long and he over exaggerated his main points.

Response Paper on Machiavelli

In “The Circle of Governments,” Niccolò Machiavelli talks about the government in Rome. Machiavelli explains how the government has changed over time. Machiavelli also talks about how the ruler wasn’t elected, they were chosen by heredity. He further explains how this caused the government to become a tyranny. The government in Rome transformed from an aristocratic government to an oligarchic tyranny. Machiavelli then goes onto explaining how the government turned into an anarchy. The whole point of the article was for Machiavelli to explain how the government was a big circle. Once the government changed, it always went back to what it originally was and so on. It was a never ending cycle.
After reading this article, I found it to be extremely boring. In fact, I’m surprised I was able to understand what the article was about. Politics is not the kind of subject I enjoy reading about. Actually, I would have to say I despise reading about politics because it’s so confusing. I can never understand what each government is or how it works, and the way Machiavelli put it just confused me even more. I’m also worried that the summary I wrote about this article is incorrect because I wasn’t able to get a clear picture of what Machiavelli was writing about.

Source Critique Two

Associated Content is a website that is provided by The People’s Media Company. It’s a website where people can publish articles about their opinion on issues. In this website, Sherri Granto wrote an article called “Winning the Lottery, Curse or a Blessing?” The article was published on October 13, 2006 and you can find it at Associatedcontent.com.
In “Winning the Lottery, Curse of a Blessing?” Granto talks about how winning the lottery can be someone’s worst nightmare. She talks about the many issues that winning the lottery can bring into your life. For example, your life can be put at danger because you’re considered a celebrity; therefore you no longer have any privacy. Winning the lottery can also cause you to lose your friends and family do to greediness or envy. She also talks about how people often become depressed because money can’t win you happiness. Furthermore, Granto provides personal stories of people who have had their lives ruined by winning the lottery. Granto also talks about how people blow their money so fast, they can’t keep up with their bills.
Although anyone can post content on this website, Granto has education that proves she just isn’t a random person posting information. She graduated from Mazama High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon and attended Western Nevada Community College. On the website, she was rated a 4.2 out of five on her content. She has also written over 50 articles; therefore her high rating proves that most of her articles are fairly accurate and reliable.
This source is useful to me because it provides many examples about how winning the lottery can affect your life. The article provides more examples than other sources I have found and more broad information on the effects of winning the lottery. It also provides personal experiences, which can make my essay more believable. If someone personally experienced something, then the information is more accurate.

Source Critique One

"The Cincinnati Enquirer" is an online edition of a newspaper produced in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is also part of the Garnett Co. Inc. newspaper. Mike Pulfer produced an article in the newspaper called “Winning Big Isn’t Ticket to Paradise.” The article was published on August 25, 2001 and you can find it at Enquier.com.
In “Winning Big Isn’t Ticket to Paradise,” Pulfer talks about how winning the lottery can often cause distress in someone’s life, rather than happiness. Although people may think that winning the lottery can cause you great fortune, Pulfer proves otherwise. He gives examples of many winners who have suffered from winning the lottery. For each person he provides a story about how winning the lottery has ruined their lives. Pulfer also explains how you can lose your marriage, friends, and freedom from winning the lottery as well.
Although this is an internet source, it’s a reliable source. Some people say anyone can post anything on the internet, but this article comes from an online newspaper. Not anyone can post an article in a newspaper. The website also provides links for other important issues in today’s society, which proves that it can be a reliable source. The “Terms of Service” section of the website tells about the copyright laws and Privacy Policy, therefore it proves that the site is reliable. A website that isn’t reliable wouldn’t provide information on how the site it protected.
The reason I decided to use this article was because Pulfer provides personal experiences within it. Although there isn’t too much information provided, he explains many stories of people who have actually won the lottery. I don’t think there could be anything more helpful than reading about people who talk about their own experiences. Not only does Pulfer provide personal experiences, but he also provides other examples of how winning the lottery can ruin someone’s life.

Interest Statement for Cause/Effect Essay

Winning the lottery can cause a great change on a person’s life. When someone goes from having no money or being middle class to having millions of dollars, it’s going to cause a great impact on their life. In my Cause/Effect Essay, I’m going to write about the effects of winning the lottery can have on your life. In the body of my essay I’m going to explain how winning the lottery can cause family issues, put you at danger, and depression.
My knowledge basis on winning the effects of winning the lottery isn’t that great. It’s not like I know someone who won the lottery, most of what I’m going to write about is common sense knowledge. However, I’m still going to be doing research on what other effects of winning the lottery can cause on your life. Although I know some things doesn’t mean that there isn’t more out there.
I really don’t know what some possible sources could be. Although I may have common sense knowledge on how winning the lottery can affect a person’s life, I’m going to need sources to back up my essay. Therefore, I’m going to have to do a lot of research on my topic.
There really aren’t any benefits of writing this essay. The only thing that I can benefit from writing about how the lottery can affect a person’s life is by furthering my knowledge. The reason I say that I really won’t benefit from this essay is because it’s not like this topic is widely talked about. But who knows, I could meet someone who will win the lottery, or perhaps win it myself. Then I will know what winning the lottery can do to someone’s life and I can be cautious about it.
I really don’t think I have any concerns about writing my essay. Although I haven’t written down any sources or taken notes about what the effects of winning the lottery are, I have read a little about it. A lot of things I’m writing about are common sense; therefore I’m not concerned at all about finding more research on my topic.
I think doing a lot of prewriting is what is going to take up more time when writing my essay. Before I write the final draft, I think it would be easier if I drew out a chart that lists the effects of winning the lottery. I think a chart will allow me to write my essay faster and it will also make it easier for me. Therefore, I think writing the actual essay won’t take much time at all.

Response Paper on Cofer

In “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz Cofer writes about how it is being a Latina. Cofer tells about how it was hard to fit in because her culture is so different from the American culture and how she is often stereotyped. Her parents were overprotective, they spoke in Spanish, they were strict Catholics, and they bought their food at a “bodega.” The music and how people dressed at festivities were different than Americans as well. Cofer also talks about how Puerto Ricans dressed in flashy clothing that showed some skin because that was how they dressed on their island. Although people may often see them as dressed inappropriately, their strict Catholic religion proved that they were still pure. Cofer then goes on explaining how men attract women on the island by performing erotic poems. She also explains how people have often mistaken her for a maid, since most Latin women are housemaids. Cofer is glad that she has an education so you can prove the Latin stereotypes wrong.
After reading this article, I would completely agree with Cofer, Latin women are always stereotyped. Although it may not be as bad now as it was before, those stereotypes are still going to be there, one way or another. Being that I am Latin as well, I can understand how Cofer feels to a certain extent. Now that we live in a generation where minorities are more expectable to the society, I don’t think I’m stereotyped as much as I would have been 20 or 30 years ago. If I wasn’t the one being stereotyped, I have witnessed someone around me from my ethnic background being stereotyped. Although I am Hispanic, I don’t think I fit the typical stereotype because I’m very “Americanized.” However, I can relate to how Cofer feels about being stereotyped.

High School v. College

High school and college are very different from each other. There are so many differences, varying from professors and teachers to grades, classes, and attitudes. Since so many people are used to high school, they often have trouble adjusting to college. Many high school graduates tend to go into college, thinking it’s like high school because that’s what they’re used to. In reality, high school and college aren’t alike at all. Although some college students may act like high school students, the environment is completely different.
The attitude of high school students and college students are different as well, although they so have some things in common. High school and college students may still be into the whole “party scene”, yet some college students are more responsible about it. High school students often have their parents around to remind them that they have class in the morning or something important to do the next day. College students have to set their priorities straight themselves. According to Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center, college students have things thrown at them that they haven’t had to deal with before. Since a lot of college students are on their own, it’s up to them to decide what’s important in their lives. They also have to be able to deal with obstacles that come their way. In addition, most college students take their classes seriously, while high school students tend to goof off. In fact, a lot of high school students are in school because they’re forced to be there. College students are in school because they actually want to be there, it’s not mandatory, unlike high school. It’s their money that’s being used to pay for their classes, so they’re going to take it more seriously.
In addition, high school teachers approach their students differently than college professors. In high school, teachers often pressure the students to turn in assignments or do their work. High school teachers actually care if their students pass, so they constantly remind their students about assignments. College professors are much different. According to Undergraduate Advising, college professors assign you work expecting you to do it on your own. Most assignments are written down on a syllabus, and it’s up to you to do them and turn them in. Some college professors assign work and never pick it up, while high school teachers assign a lot of work and take grades or extra credit for them. When high school teachers have a test or quiz, they often go over what is expected to be on the test. The answers are often straight from the textbooks or from material covered in class. College professors give tests and quizzes based on things discussed in lectures or assigned readings that you read on your own time.
College professors and high school teachers have a very different grading system. In high school, you are given grades for most of your work done. In college, professors assign you work, but sometimes don’t take grades for it. In high school classes, there are many quizzes and tests given, so if you do badly on one, you can bring up your grade by others or class work. In college, not many test grades are given, therefore, on bad test grade can really ruin your grade. Speaking from my own experiences, I once had a college class where our quizzes were online. Since I was so used to high school work, this was a big shock for me. Furthermore, high school teachers often move tests or quizzes so they won’t conflict with extracurricular activities. However, college professors set a test date and don’t change it according to your schedule. According to Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center, you need a D to graduate from high school and in college you need a 2.0 or a C to graduate. Therefore, the grading scale is also different.
In conclusion, high school and college are two very different environments. There are many things that many things that make high school different from college. Although many people may see high school and college so much alike, it’s not. Everything from attitudes, grades, assigned work, professors and teachers can make high school and college and two different worlds.



Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center. “How is College Different From High School?”
Smu.edu. Southern Methodist University. 10 June 2007 <http://www. smu.
edu/alec/transition.html>.
Greenfield, Mark A. “High School vs. College.” Advising.buffalo.edu. 5 Jan. 2007.
Undergraduate Advising. 10 June 2007 < http://advising.buffalo.edu>.