Money and Happiness

     This week we read "On the Want of Money" by William Hazlitt. This essay focused on how miserable a life in poverty is. I thought this to be a little odd because instead of saying how money shouldn't be a priority in life, Hazlitt focuses on the importance of money and says, "Literally and truly, one cannot get on well in the world without money." Although saying how crucial money is sounds a little shallow, it is very true. You can't do all the things you love without money. This made me think back to the video we watched about pursuing directions in life that you would enjoy instead of choosing a path solely for the money. To make money, you usually have to be very skilled in a certain field. And to master a skill, you have to love it and want to improve on it. If you choose to do something you enjoy and work hard at it, even if you think it will be a poor-paying job, you can become a master at it and it could end up earning you more money than you expected. And when you have more money, you can do even more things that you love and make you happy. It all loops back around and continually fills life with happiness.

     Going into senior year, I have to make decisions pretty soon on what I want to do the rest of my life.  For so long, I've wanted to become an architect because it is a field that I've always really loved. Lately, I've been thinking about the money aspect of it; architecture is not usually a job that earns a ton of money. I started questioning if I still wanted to do it and started considering pharmacy, but that is something I know I'd not enjoy doing my whole life. I am now back to architecture, and who knows? Maybe I'll become a famous architect and earn 5 times as much money as pharmacy could ever earn me.