It happens more than we think. Days full of work, 12-16 hours long, only interrupted by the occasional 15-minute break and well-deserved lunch hour. The constant in and out the persistence of physical and mental labor; and for what? For that monthly paycheck, that is ripped away from the hands of collectors, bills, and groceries? Although some men and women are financially stable, there leaves the large sum of people who are not.

There are times where sleep isn’t an option with the relentless stress and worries: what bill is most important? What bill can wait a month? How am I going to pay for this? When work is day-to-day, with enough pay to keep us coming back each month, it almost seems as if this is an endless life game with only one desired winner; money. If we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, money is at the top. Money is the promotion, prize, and motivation of all things.

Money. It waits while you work yourself to exhaustion. While you leave your children, your friends, and your family to slave over a 6-inch piece of paper; if even that. Money has moved from the dollar bill to a more numerical value. We force ourselves into unlawful and unjust situations for the number in our bank account to rise. We accept the various wrinkles, creases, and blemishes on our face due to the stress of a dollar.

In college, money is quick at work. We are found to chase the career in demand or the one with the biggest salary. In return, we hide our passions until we are financially independent to pursue them, if ever. Upon graduating, we are struck with instant debt. A 200,000 dollar degree to wipe away the tears of unemployment. Once we get our hands on a job, we become acquainted with collectors. It is as if we can never start a new slate; always digging our way up, but somehow getting deeper.

We have always wondered what was at the center of the universe, and society has inevitably chosen. Money is the question and the answer, the accuser and the abuser. If you find what I am saying isn’t true, take a moment to think about it. What is stopping you from buying that new car or taking the next month as a “mental health” month? Could we be so consumed by money, that we forget what life is all about? Everybody has their own value of life, but there is definitely a worldwide consensus, right?

Life should be about enjoying lightning on a dark summer night or taking in the sweet smell of rain after a home baseball game. Life should be about watching your grandpa enjoy a strawberry milkshake or volunteering for the local food bank. We should put more emphasis on the memories we share in exchange for the property we own.

Although there will always be bills to be paid, work to be done, there will only be one life to live. Don’t give up on your passion for the pay at the end of the month. A wage enough to support, but not enough to enjoy; in reality, we are working a starvation wage. A starvation not of food, but of life.