I was able to visit the lovely Whipple Dam this past weekend and enjoy the beautiful spring weather Mother Nature has given Centre County recently. As my friends and I began to unpack all of our barbeque supplies, I began to assemble the tabletop grill I had invested in earlier this semester.

When it came time to put together the seven pieces, I searched for the instructions to ensure a stable grilling process. To my surprise, there were no instructions included. After struggling for a few minutes, my roommate finally discovered the correct process of assembly.

As the burgers and hot dogs cooked, I started wondering why wouldn't something that includes potential fire hazards and safety hazards come with instructions?

Is it really that hard to type up a few sentences explaining the correct procedure?

It worries me that companies will just leave it up to your typical Jessica Simpson to put together something like a grill. What if it would have fallen over? Or what if someone got hurt or burned?

Isn't this how companies get sued? I mean some things are just common sense, but you would think for liability reasons that instructions would need to be included. And it's not just my grill.

Sometimes I have just looked at something and asked, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Because of this incident, I have become more and more aware of contraptions and devices that have no instructions manuals included with them.

From beauty products to massagers, I have come to the conclusion that companies don't really want an average person like me to assemble things. I have encountered eye masks that were apparently supposed to be heated, and six-piece massagers that have cost me a lot of extra time putting together, all from the lack of instructions. I am definitely one of those people who need the instructions to feel comfortable putting something together. If I do not think I have correctly assembled something, I get nervous about using it.

And if there are people who don't need the instructions then they don't have to use them, but isn't it better to be safe than sorry? Printing some simple directions would save both parties a lot of aggravation.

Not only for safety reasons but also for economic reasons, directions would be beneficial. Some products, if not assembled or used properly, will not effectively produce the goal set in mind. This can deter customers, looking from a company's perspective. You could potentially lose sales from the fact that no instructions were included.

This might be a far stretch, but I know that I won't be using my tabletop grill again for the mere fact that I will always have to have my roommate there to assemble it for me.

Are these companies too cheap to help out the American public? It can't cost that much to hire one person to type some measly directions. And if they are environmentalists and worried about the paper, why not use recyclable paper? The company may not think their products are that hard to put together, but it's not that hard to include some guideline information either.

This idea of self-absorbed companies also discourages me from buying anything from them as well. So not only will I not buy a grill from them again, but I also will more than likely steer away from other products by that particular brand.

I am a college student. I buy cheap frozen dinners for the fact that they are quick and time efficient. If something is going to have me struggling and wasting my time figuring out exactly what I am supposed to be doing with it, I won't use it. And it really shouldn't be that difficult.

I'm sure some will think this is a petty discrepancy, but when it comes to saving me the potential hassle or harm from a product, I don't think instructions are too much to ask for.