In this day and age, money rules. Money is needed for everything and more often than not, it tends to be scarce. I am a broke college student, plain and simple. I have a hard time scrapping pennies together to pay for weekly activities and bills. I just want money. But in my constant efforts to try and get money, I find myself less and less happy with each passing day. I work as much as I possibly can when I’m not at school, practice, my internship, or a club meeting. My schedule is busy and I am always running around doing something. I have a full plate with just school alone. It is rare if I have a day off with nothing to do.

I must admit that it feels good at the end of the week to get a check but the money I receive never does seem to be enough. With everything else I have to do, I only work around 20 hours a week. I am always wondering halfway through the next week where all the money has gone. I find myself wishing that if I could just win the lottery…but don’t we all do that from time to time? I am guilty of thinking that money brings happiness. It doesn’t, money isn’t happiness. Money may seem to make you happy, but is that really the case? I know for me that money gives me a false sense of happiness. I have bought into the idea that money is a necessity, that I need money to be happy in life but my constant chase of the dollar bill has done nothing but drain my happiness.

I am in college, which are supposed to be the best years of my life. Am I going to waste my last year being miserable because I am letting work and money control me or am I going to make the best of the memories and experiences and quit obsessing over money? Money is always going to be a part of life. I know that. But stressing over how much I have is not healthy, rather I should accept what I have and make the best of it. I think that this is a lesson to be learned for the future. Focus less on material things and more on memories, experiences, and connections.

I think that we all worry a little too much about money and do not worry enough about ourselves and our happiness. We should all value ourselves and our happiness a little more. So what if I am low on money? I would rather be happy, making memories and sharing experiences with the ones I love most in my life over spending all my time working and micromanaging my bank account. I am choosing to stop letting the world tell me that money is everything. I am choosing to stop stressing about how much money I have. I am choosing to value memories and experiences more. I am choosing my happiness instead.