Money, Struggle, and the Things We Learn Young
Reflecting on how our environment and upbringing shape the way we relate to money.
Today I found myself reflecting about money.
Not money itself.
But how people relate to it.
And maybe more importantly, how children learn to see it.
I know one kid who struggles financially.
Life isn't easy for him.
Yet after countless interactions with him, he has never asked me for money.
Not once.
That stayed with me.
Then today, two younger kids came near me and grabbed some money that I had placed somewhere nearby.
I joked around and told one of them that I needed the money too.
But he insisted on taking it.
So I jokingly told him to do some push-ups first if he wanted it.
He immediately dropped to the ground and gave me around five push-ups with the funniest and ugliest form I've ever seen.
Of course, we laughed.
But later, I found myself thinking about the whole interaction.
The interesting thing is that these kids are not poor.
Their families are doing okay.
Meanwhile, the kid I know who struggles financially has never asked me for money despite having more reasons to do so.
That made me wonder how much our environment and upbringing shape the way we see money.
Maybe parenting matters more than we realize.
Maybe the lessons we learn at home become our relationship with money later in life.
One thing I worry about is children becoming too attached to money too early.
Not because money is bad.
Money matters.
Money solves problems.
Money creates opportunities.
But if someone grows up believing that money simply appears whenever they want it, they may never fully understand its value.
Struggle teaches appreciation.
Effort teaches value.
Sometimes earning something changes the way we look at it.
This reminded me of another friend of mine.
He often jokes that I have money and that ₱1,000 is probably a small amount to me.
Meanwhile, he struggles far more than I do.
Life has not been easy for him.
Yet despite all his difficulties, he never chose illegal shortcuts.
He never became desperate enough to sacrifice his values.
He kept working.
Kept enduring.
Kept hoping.
Kept moving forward.
And honestly, I admire that.
Because optimism becomes more impressive when life gives you reasons to lose it.
That's one thing I appreciate about the people around me.
Many of them only have enough.
Some barely have enough.
Yet they remain generous.
They remain ethical.
They remain true to themselves.
They don't let hardship turn into greed.
They don't let struggle become an excuse to hurt others.
And maybe that's one of the strongest forms of character a person can have.
As for the kid and the ₱50, I hope one day he learns something that all of us eventually learn.
Not everything worth having should simply be given.
Sometimes we need effort.
Sometimes we need patience.
Sometimes we need to struggle a little.
Because struggle has a strange way of teaching appreciation.
And appreciation has a strange way of protecting us from greed.
Hopefully one day he'll understand that.
Just like the rest of us eventually do.
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