Money or No Money?

No one can say they’ve never been jealous of that one person or friend at their school that was extremely rich and had every single new thing there was. When I was little, just like Nick in The Great Gatsby, I was always jealous of the rich kid’s “freedom with money.” Whenever I asked my parents for a new toy, I would get turned down. Seeing the rich kid always playing with the newest trending toy made me wonder why I couldn’t be like him.

Now that I have grown older, I have realized that money isn’t everything. I know this is the most cliché saying ever, but it is true. Although money can buy you any object you want like mansions, private jets, summer cottages, an island, the newest iPhone, twenty-thousand dollar shoes, designer brand clothing, etc. (the list could go on forever), money cannot buy you anything abstract. Yes, money can technically buy you happiness if you are happy with the items that you bought, but would you really be happy if the only things you had were money and the stuff that you bought with that money?

Recently, I have noticed that my friends are really more than friends to me. The trust I have for them is beyond a friendship and I can pour out all my emotions to them without being judged.  The sheer happiness I experience around them every time we hang out makes me never want to miss a chance to hang out with them. Just being around them makes me want to become a better person myself. I never thought I’d develop such a close, almost family-like bond with such people that are simply called “friends.” I am honestly thankful that I am not rich because if I was, my money would never be able to buy me this.