The History of Paper: 

Paper is something we as Americans do not value enough. Paper has shaped how we live today in so many ways. Without it, we would struggle. Most people do not know how paper came to be, but paper has affected our lives and how we communicate every single day. Before we had paper, people would write on clay tablets or parchment paper with a stylus made from a reed. This was the only way to communicate back then. During this time the Chinese got extremely creative and used pieces of bamboo or silk. Unfortunately bamboo and silk became way too expensive. In 105 A.D. paper was invented by a Chinese court official named Ts'ai Lun. During the Tang Dynasty paper was used for so many things such as making tea bags, paper money, woodblock printing, and book production. 

    

    Having newspapers, periodicals, magazines, and books allows for people to share their knowledge with each other and communicate their opinions and ideas on world issues. We are also able to use paper to write letters to people that we care about from a distance. A great example of this is writing to loved ones in the military. We also have the ability to send postcards and letters to family members or friends in different states. I personally feel that receiving a letter is so much more meaningful than getting a text message. Paper has helped the spread of literature and literacy all over the world. Paper has shaped how we do things today in our everyday lives. Paper has become a necessity. 

    Overall, without paper we would only have technology. We would only be able to type essays or documents as opposed to giving our eyes a break to write things down. Its extremely important to have paper because our older generations would struggle without it. Technology is something older generations are not familiar with so for them its much harder to use. Paper is also important for printing documents such as tests in school, medical documents, and more. We also can't assume everyone has assess to technology so therefore we need paper as another option. Lastly, we need to take into consideration people with disabilities. In conclusion, paper is necessary to have in our lives and without it many people would struggle.