This weekend, I am taking a trip back home to celebrate my little sister's eighth birthday. I went home just about every other weekend last year, but this year I have not been traveling back as frequently. I have been planning this trip home for the past couple of weeks, and have increasingly been more excited about it. I will get to see my family, hang out with some of my friends, and will even get to see my grandparents. Unfortunately, however, there are things that I will be missing out on that are going on here at Regent this weekend. Two things that I will be unable to attend due to this trip are a lecture for the Honors College and a dinner with one of my friends here. I will also be giving up potential opportunities to hang out with friends at Regent and get ahead on some of my schoolwork. These things that I will be missing out on are known as the opportunity cost of my taking this trip. I have taken all of these opportunity costs into consideration while deciding whether or not my trip home is worth it and have determined that it is worth the opportunity cost for me to go home this weekend. It might seem insignificant, but it just goes to show how economics plays a role in so many decisions that we make that affect our day-to-day lives. Economics truly is everywhere.
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To me, opportunity cost is one of the most fascinating topics in regards to economics. It is so simple, yet still guides so many individual's choices and decisions. For me, home is six hours away, and a trip to see my family would have great opportunity cost. However, I still find it important to see my family and lasts semester I took a trip home to surprise my family. Although the opportunity cost of the trip was great, I valued spending some extra time with them more, which ultimately guided my decision to make the trip.