Money:

Does it really make you rich?

by Nakiya D., Bristol, CT

$100,000. Wow! That's a lot of money. That's what everyone keeps telling me. They are absolutley right - it is a lot of money. I always believed that money would make everything okay, that it would take away all my problems. As I sit and stare at the new clothing scattered all over my room, I realize that money has done nothing but make me better dressed. Money doesn't make up for my father being a jerk and walking out on us. It doesn't take away the pain of not having your daddy around to kiss you on the forehead when you've done right or wrong. Money won't bring back Tramayne. Every time I think about the moment when my mother showed me the winning lotto ticket, I wished he was still around to call. He would have been an awesome shopping partner. It's too bad they don't have phones in heaven. Money won't make up for my lost friend.

Money makes people you don't even know suddenly want to be your friend and it makes people you do know look at you differently. In just a short time, I've realized that money doesn't mean anything but material things and fake friends you don't want or need. I'd rather have my dad back, my friend back and the same people who have been there all along. I see now money is just one hundred thousand ways to lose your true self.