Money scares me.

Money is powerful.

Money is vain.
Even so, it equips and provides.

Money is scarce.
Money is tempting.
Money is dirty.
Even so, it is beautiful and plentiful.

Money drives.
Money feeds.
Money travels.
Even so, without it, you cannot do these things.

I glare at my bank account.
I dig in my purse.
I lift up couch cushions.
This is what it does to me.

I deal with people I don’t want to.
I go to offices that intimidate me.
I fill out forms that leave me vulnerable.
This is what it does to me.

I drive for cheaper gas.
I barter for higher paychecks.
I starve my body and mind for copper and silver.
This is what it does to me.

I might need to work two jobs.
Imagine that: full-time student
Juggling a full-time workload.
Thanks, 2016 America.

I can’t live on-campus
Or take more than 12 hours.
Supposedly my parents “make too much”.
Thanks, 2016 America.

Car insurance is horrible.
Electricity bills are unreasonable.
Even healthy eating is a double-edged sword.
Thanks, 2016 America.

Yet I am white.
I am Christian.
I am female.
Shouldn’t I do something?

I have a car.
I have a house.
I have a job.
Can’t I do something?

I am a student.
I am an innovator.
I am one of a generation of thousands.
So no, I can’t do something.

Or so I am told.

I am told to pay interest
On loans I shouldn’t need
Because college should be free.
Yet I am entitled.

I am job-hunting unreasonably
Because my current job can only do so much
Before labor gets too high.
Yet I am greedy.

God forbid I should open a savings account
And try to pay for my own education
With what little I am able to earn.
Yet I am trying too hard.

College is hard enough.

We sit in lectures for six hours
Then get on our hands and knees
For people who won’t remember our name
After we give them a sandwich.

We trek almost asleep
In shoes that need to be replaced
To our dwellings (if we have one)
To do homework we’re too tired to finish.

We wake up feeling close to hungover
After a restless night
And counting dollar signs
Because counting adorable sheep is child’s play.

We students are desperate.
We young people are hungry.
We employees are fed up.
Help us.

Our minds are throbbing, not growing.
Our hearts are bitter, not compassionate.
Our souls are gray, not hopeful.
Nurture us.

We pray for answers we’ll never get from humans.
We yearn for answers that Google can’t locate.
We go to the corners of the earth and we’re still broke.
Listen to us.

Life on Earth is never cheap anymore.
College is hard enough
Without having to fight for penny and dollar.
We shouldn’t have to, should we?