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Reality is what bites and chews away your heart. Got this somewhere from one of my friends whom I haven't seen for sometime. She shares the same birthday as me though, but there's beside the point.

You know, my closest and oldest group of friends, that bunch from Montfort, is really old and have been thinking too way ahead ever since they were younger. Now we stand with each other knowing what each of us wants in life. I can't say that everyone of us knows what he wants but.. roughly there I guess.

Have been seeing them a lot lately. Talked a bit, a huge bit. The topic revolves around money. Wei Yen is working at Great Eastern and interning at an Audit firm in Tiong Bahru. Khong Chin, on the other hand, is currently still stuck in the Navy for another year or so. Alvyn's working at his uncle's company, helping out with marketing stuff. As for me, I am just slacking at home waiting for things to happen. Everyone's working towards something in a sense.

One day, we talked about financial freedom. You know the legendary status that financial planners will convince you to attain. I told them money isn't my primary concern in life, but they kindly reminded me that with money, I can do so much more in life and to accomplish what I want easier.

You know, I always have a very bad concept of money. Like investing or insurance, these options are just quite foreign to me. I always hated money, that's why I don't bother myself with learning about how to get more money. I know you must be thinking I am crazy, but I seriously think that what turned this whole World into the state it's in now, is money. Of course, it's not just greed for money alone that is responsible, a few of the other seven sins are the culprits too. But you see, I have witnessed people turning against each other, for money. I have seen this many times, be it in the family, or at the workplace or even in school. When I was younger, I used to wonder why people stoop to such unscrupulous and immoral levels just to get money. I used to have this crazy thought, where the World will abolish the currency system and everyone just work for everyone, for free. So in that absurd thought, everyone works for purely altruistic reasons. Of course, it won't work. Everyone wants recognition for their work, be it in the form of money or fame, that goes for me too.

But you see, after learning Psychology for nearly two years, it kind of made realised a few things. People aren't as altruistic as before and Psychological Egoism exists. It's not that extreme that everyone turned evil but slowly the amount is increasing. When I look at the youngsters and teenagers nowadays I ask myself, when are they going to grow up. I am talking about 15 years and beyond here. They are youngsters to me cause I am freaking 23 this year. Forget about those "ah-lians & ah-bengs", I will just focus on those more educated and supposedly whom will take over the general population here. Most of them now grew up with their parents working, usually are highflyers earning huge bucks. So when they are young, their parents replaced their love in the form of toys and whatever-they-like-to-play electronic gadgets. So as they grow up, all they acquire is that satisfying material needs is the most important (because that's the main thing that make them happy) hence, to be able to satisfy those needs, they need more money. And when they grow up and have kids, they will repeat the same things that their parents did and a cycle is formed.

Khong Chin was telling me that he thinks family is very important. I couldn't agree more. I believe education starts in the family. No matter how busy you get, you need to spend adequate time to educate your child, so that he or she knows what this thing called life is about. To them, it maybe pursuing money and satisfying material needs. It doesn't matter, they just have to interact with their kids, tell them ideas, give them opinions and insight about what they will need to get past their first 20 years of their lives. Because, hopefully during then, they will realise the significance of having children and the purpose of being parents, to bring and make your children into useful human beings of the future. I don't even want to go into clarifying what useful is, you guys make out what it is.

When I was young, my daddy told me to study hard to get a decent job, so that I won't have to slog so hard to earn money. When I was older, people tell me that getting a decent job is not enough, you need to aim higher and study harder, so that you can get into a professional occupation and earn big bucks so that I won't have to slog so hard for money. When I am in the midst of studying harder, people tell me that getting a high paying profession is not enough, I need to invest and get better returns, bonds, funds, insurance, they are the key to attaining financial freedom, then I get to do what I want with all that money.

Seriously, if I've known that my only job in life is to pursue endless ways to attaining money so that I could spend it only when I am in my 50s, I would have quitted long ago. This job sucks. Haha.

Then again, I have something else I want to do in life, besides that. So keep walking I shall.