Wrd110 pp
- 1. I was Weighed Down With greed Zena Rice-Sarantis WRD 110 4/3/14
- 2. From a money hungry kid to a happy loving adult. • My journey from thinking money was the most important thing in the world. • I always thought money was one of the most important things in life, I thought that money was a measure of ones success, that was until my parents went bankrupt my freshman year of college without warning. Now, I believe that having meaningful relationships with my family and friends as well as love are the most important things and are really true measures of your success in life.
- 3. “Money, some people so poor; all that they've got is money... Oh, and diamonds... Some people waste their life counting their thousands...(Keys)”
- 4. When I grow up I want to be a ballerina rich. • In fifth grade we had a project in school, we had to write all about what we wanted to be when we grew up. This project was easy for me, I knew what I wanted to be since first grade, rich.
- 5. Money = Success • Growing up I was sure that the only way you could truly have a successful life was if you were rich. • I thought money was the only measure of a persons success. • I thought money was the end all be all. I had to be rich if I wanted to be happy when I was older.
- 6. Money = Happiness • I always assumed that if you had money you would be happy. • I figured nothing else mattered too much as long as you could live very comfortably.
- 7. I want it all … • I was writing a paper and I asked my brother to give a description of my personality and he said “ well you definitely enjoy the finer things in life and you like having nice stuff”
- 8. …well I used to • Everything changed in October of my freshman year of college. • I called my parents and started talking about how excited I was to come home. The other line was silent as I babbled on about seeing my friends and going shopping at the mall. My dad finally broke the silence, saying we are so sorry but we can’t afford for you to come home. Confusion and shock settled over me as I began to question why they couldn’t afford it.
- 9. And the shift begins • It was a hot summer night, I was home from school sitting outside with my dad. He was telling my brother and I how sorry he was for making our lives harder and not being able to provide us with what we needed. • This moment with my dad was a major moment of clarity for me. I realized I didn’t need material things or money to make my life full and happy, I just wanted the people who were most important in my life to be happy.
- 10. A helping hand • When my parents declared bankruptcy, two of our family friends generously gave my parents money to help keep everything afloat. • I was in awe when I heard of their incredible generosity. • Another moment of clarity washed over me, and I again realized how important having meaningful relationships with friends and family are. You need people to surround yourself with when life gets hard.
- 11. I get by with a little help from my friends.• What is success if you don’t have anyone to share it with? • I have realized that having strong and meaningful relationships with my friends and family is more important than becoming rich.
- 12. So what do I want to be now?• Now that I’m not so worried about being rich, I’m following my passions in Psychology and Music.
- 13. Materialistic ? Not me, well not anymore.• Sometimes ill look around my room at home and feel like I’m drowning in “things”. • What the heck did I need all those random things for? • I feel lighter now, no longer weighed down by greed and envy.
- 14. Happily Ever After • My family is closer now than we ever have been, and I am much closer with my friends, and family friends who supported my family and I so much through the change. • Going broke so to speak, was kind of a good thing now my family and I are all rebuilding our lives and not looking back.
- 16. Works Cited Alicia Keys. “Not Even The King." Girl on Fire. RCA, 2012. CD. Ballerina picture: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/514817801125180169/ Mansion picture: http://www.modernweddingphotography.tv Mercedes picture :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes- Benz_SLR_McLaren Picture of girl Shopping http://www.pinterest.com/pin/237353842830957330/