Money plus hard work equals happiness

College students across the nation commonly struggle with the same issue. No, not the freshman 15, but the lack of money. Whether you don’t have time for a job, or just spend it as soon as the check is cashed, complaints about money problems are common to college students.

Money is a necessity in life. Whether you want to admit it or not, there aren’t many things that you can do without it. Obviously you cannot buy your family or friends, but the argument can be made that money can buy happiness.

Happiness can be found all over the place, but in my case, a lot of my hobbies that I enjoy cost money. Whatever you enjoy to do, odds are that it costs money. The point is that money is an important part of everyone’s life.

The problem is that in today’s society, people are unwilling to work hard for their money, or think that they are entitled to it. There are three unalienable rights granted to every human; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Note that it is the pursuit of happiness, not just happiness. And as I previously stated, happiness usually costs money. The pursuit is going to be filled with a lot of work, probably even more failure, and hopefully with a little luck, success.

One of the most angering things in my opinion, is that there are some people in society that are shaming wealthy individuals. If it’s anger, or jealousy, they are chastising the wealthy. Now, there are some people in the high class that have had their entire life handed to them. I am not talking about those people. I am talking about the ones that started with next to nothing, took risks, and worked endless hours to get where they are today.

Instead of shaming these people, next time look at what they have done to get to that point in their life. Instead of sitting around and waiting for someone to hand you success, get out and do something for yourself. Take a risk, accept and learn from failure, and put yourself in a position to be happy. Whatever you find happiness in, get to that point in your life that it can be an everyday occurrence, not a luxury.

So the next time your friend or roommate skips out on “Call of Duty” or “Madden” to go to work, instead of complaining or begging them to stay, keep in mind that they might have a goal that they are working toward. It might just be paying rent, or buying a new car, but if they are working hard and earning their money, hold your tongue, and think about something that you want, and can’t afford. Maybe if you put your head down and work long hours on top of school, someday you’ll get there.