Twenty Five Cents

Much of my recent time has been spent putting things in perspective. I find myself apprehensive in regards to the mystical, almost mythical date of graduation that approaches, only exacerbated by my decision to defer graduate school. Indefinitely.

This anxiety about the future only brings me to my next thought – why the hell should I be worried? I don’t have a child. I’m not broke yet. After May 9th I won’t have any commitments besides college loans. And rent. Insurance. Phone. Electric. Cable. Gas. Internet. But everyone deals with that. There are other reasons I shouldn’t be worried.

I’ve held six jobs and never formally applied for any of them. Through family I have opportunities a guaranteed job after college. My education costs more than most people make a few years. More than some see in their entire lives.

And yet it continues. In a world where someone in Indonesia gets paid around $3 a day to make shoes while a broker in New York won’t blink at you unless you’re ready to move a hundred thousand dollars, how can you ask for explanations?

Eight Hundred Billion dollars is going to be pumped into the US economy. Not that I’m an economic brilliance, but $650 million is being spent to help convert America to digital television. $400 million is going to be spent to support and restore national monuments. Now that’s not to say that spending isn’t the answer, but when I read these numbers all that comes to mind are those donation milk cartons from elementary school; 25 cents to feed a child for a week.

The term Capitalist Indulgence is taking on an entirely new meaning.

These are numbers that I can’t even fathom. How does one divvy that amount up? Where do you start when staring at millions of people holding out their hands? And what happens if the money goes to the wrong people? What happens if it doesn’t work? And where did that last Seven Hundred Billion go?

How am I supposed to contribute when I'm trying to keep my own head above water?

Start from the ground up. Keep it simple. Make people smile. Learn. Teach. Keep friends close. Shake up the routine. Stay fresh. Give what you expect to get. Go out of the way to help others.

And somewhere in there make just enough to pay those bills.

best wishes,
joe mahon