The first reading was written by Benjamin Franklin. In this reading he explains the hardships of taxation on the early American people. He talks about how new taxes are being imposed by the government and how people are no able to pay them. Around halfway through he changes to a bit of a lighter mood when he begins to talk about procrastination. He talks about how instead of complaining about the new taxes people should work harder. He says how people shouldn’t put their work off, they should do it as soon as possible. He says with this attitude people will be able to get more done in the day, and thus make it easier to pay taxes. One quote that stood out to me was “Then plow deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell.” What Franklin means by this is work harder earlier and later in the day, accomplish more and then you will have more to sell.

The second article starts off by talking about the various laws and regulations that made it hard for the colonies. These new laws and regulations came after the Boston Tea Party. The laws imposed many taxes, fines, and debt onto the colonists. Examples of these hardships are the British wanting payment in pounds, not dollars, and the 1764 Currency Act. This act made it so the colonies can’t print paper money. Things only got worse after the Stamp Act was passed. Many riots across Boston broke out over the coming years. British Military Governor Gage would later try to take away the harmful acts but would fail. After this, opinions were split on both sides, and it was beginning to look like the only solution was war. The riding ends by saying in 1775 the revolutionary war would begin.

-Nick Mitterando

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.