No Money is Small Money

From the onset of my understanding, I have been made to understand that education is the way out; but it never comes on a silver platter. It a journey with ups and downs and further gets complicated when matters finances are roped in. My biggest obstacle has also been my biggest blessing. Yes, my three brothers. Being the first born, it automatically became my responsibility to raise them up after a domestic and other feuds and occurrences, way above my control rudely handed over the responsibility to me. All this time, the words that education is the way out kept reverberating inside my head. I had to find a way or another to keep myself, and my three brothers in school. It was not just about being in school; it was about keeping all of us in tip top shape to ensure that we optimize the opportunity. We all know hungry stomachs and memories of cold nights are rude and efficient in interfering with an individual in an academic set up. On that, I knocked any door I deemed necessary, and am proud of the results it yielded. The three boys are on their feet but am not yet out of the woods.

The experience of maturing up hastily and assuming the responsibility of making life changing decisions has been very educative. Yes, people are brought up and gradually handed over the responsibility of taking care of other humans (mostly their children) over extended periods of time. To me, that was not the case. As such, I have learnt the art of sobering up and taking financial challenges as fast as they come. I have learnt how to get priorities in order, and even though I might have erred in the same, it was part of learning. In prioritizing, it is now clear to me that it is no longer an issue of emotions or intuition; it is a matter of facts no matter how hard they might be. They call it biting the bullet or taking the bull by its horns. It is what I have inadvertently been taught by life.

Finances, no matter how meagre they might seem, are not to be despised. On this, I always tell my brothers, “no money is small money” to ensure that they don’t underestimate the value of any resource and in the end misappropriate it. Goals should come before money, this ensures that every dollar has a definite gap that it should fill, should it come my way. It has been a way of ensuring that I remain aggressive and with an understanding of what should be done next. It is through these experiences that I have appreciated that ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice. My ignorance has been put through fire and progressively it changed to knowledge.

Approaching the subject of money on a personal level has been revolutionized through experience. Money is a very diverse subject that requires understanding and sufficient planning. This reminds me that am still indebted due my pursuit of a better tomorrow, not for me, but also for others who did not probably understand what was happening to them. my struggles have made me appreciate the role of financial education and education in general. As such, I have revitalized my efforts to achieve that which I endeavored for myself since I was young. I make goals to pursue them and this is not one of those kind of goals that I can prematurely withdraw from. With the rising cost of higher education, it is my aim to make it despite the odds, drawing inspiration from past conquests.

            Through my brothers, I have learnt the need to listen or see the dreams of others. As such, I have developed the mentality of evaluating a person based on their personalities rather than on appearance. It is an art that comes out of sheer training of the brain to ensure that judgement of individuals is not based on superficial reasoning. The strength of this kind of reasoning is not one-way, it works both ways, when one is helping out and when one is being helped out. As such, people are supreme, as long as one is open minded.