For the longest time, I thought that money is what brings happiness. All the celebrities look happy with their perfect smiles, nice cars, and expensive clothes.  I sit in my room imagining what I would do if I had a lot of money. If I had money I wouldn’t have to worry about anything, all my problems would go away. I could do so many fun things if I had the money. Go to a different country, experience high-class living, expensive foods, travel around the world. I would be able to do anything I want to and not worry about anything. I thought money is the answer to all my problems and I thought it would make me happy. 

I sitting on my bed listening to rap music like I usually do when I’m bored. It was around 10 PM on a Saturday night. A song by Lil Wayne called, “Money On My Mind” begins to play. In the song he says, “I’m from a place ...where money's more important than a person...get profit...I know it's crazy, but I can't get enough I love it.” He raps about getting money and how he loves to have a lot of money. I imagined myself in his shoes, having money, fame, women, and power to do what even I want. I imagined living that kind of life would be fun and exciting. A lot of rap music I listen to promotes the idea that money brings happiness so I just assumed that it did without questioning that idea. A lot of the things I see online promote that idea too and I’m online most of the time so I constantly see it.

A few days passed. It was another cool night. I remember the cool air coming from my window, I closed it, and I used a very soft, fluffy blanket to keep warm. I was especially tired that night because I just came back from a trip so I simply layed in bed listening to music. A song called “Love Yourz” by one of my favorite artists, J. Cole., begins to play. He says, “For what's money without happiness? Or hard times without the people you love?... I think being broke was better.” He raps about how you can be happy with what you have now and that money will not promise you happiness. This was the first time I heard someone say that money doesn't promise happiness, but I really didn’t think about what he said and just moved on. A little while longer I heard another person say the same thing. This person was a celebrity by the name of  Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, a multimillionaire Youtuber I’ve been following for years. I thought of him as a very honest, happy guy who doesn't really care all that much about money. Felix made me really question the idea that money equals happiness with his video titled “Let's Talk About Money.” when he says, "I really think money doesn't make you happy. I am just as happy now as I was five years ago. I’m really happy that I don’t have to worry about paying rent but other than that, money doesn't change much." He continues to talk about how money can bring short-term happiness but not “real happiness”. I was very surprised when he said this but it made sense to me. He, along with a few others, eventually convinced me that the idea of money equals happiness is false, and happiness can be found in what I have now. 

Overall, I used to think that money brings happiness, but due to the words of a few people I look up to, the way I look at money and happiness has changed. I think that money is very important in getting you the things that you want, but will not bring you happiness. The idea that money equals happiness is just an illusion. Happiness is only found in yourself and others. How much money you have has nothing to do with how happy you are. I used to imagine happiness as a man who stands atop mountains of wealth, but now, it is a man surrounded by the people he truly loves.