Can money buy my happiness?

    In The Boiler Room Ben Affleck's character said, “ Anybody tells you money is the root of all evil, doesn’t f*cking have any. They say money can't buy you happiness, look at the f*cking smile on my face, ear to ear baby.” When I initially heard this quote I agreed with Affleck’s character. Problematically I later realized that money can't buy me time. Time is invaluable, money can buy you clothes, jewelry, food, but it can't buy time. Hypothetically if money could buy me time. Money could buy me happiness. 

    For instance if money could buy me time, I could stay in bed longer in the morning. Every morning I have to complete the painstaking chore of leaving my bed. My alarm goes off, I ignore it. My second alarm goes off, I ignore it. Finally on the last alarm I break free from my blanket’s warm embrace and depart my bed. But the struggle isn't over yet after I get out of the shower and get dressed guess where I go. Downstairs to eat breakfast? No! Back to my bed, I sit on my bed and grapple with the sorrowful reality that I can no longer find solace in its cozy blankets.

    Before you start thinking I'm talking about sleep, I'm not. I'm talking specifically about my bed. I can take a nap anywhere. The bus, car, classroom, movies, couch, pretty much anywhere. Though all of those places can offer me a place to temporarily rest, none of them compare to the relaxation my bed can offer me. 

    I'm sure everyone can partially relate to my somewhat unhealthy attachment to my bed. Your bed is the place where you put your mind to rest. After the stressful hustle and bustle of a 7 hour school day, and for some, another 3 hours of extracurricular activities (like sports) all you want to do is lay down and rest your weary head. Where’s the best place to do that? Your bed of course!

    In all seriousness, time is invaluable other than being able to give me the extra moments in bed I long for, being able to buy yourself more time is giving yourself the means to live life without deadlines. Unfortunately the ability to live life without deadlines constantly approaching is a luxury no one can afford. Whether those deadlines are an assignment due at midnight, a business proposal at noon, someone's birth, or someone's death, we as people are always approaching some kind of deadline.

    But for a moment, just imagine a life where the approaching deadlines were null, where $5 could buy you 5 minutes, where time has a dollar value. It sounds great doesn't it? It does, but only in theory. This hypothetical raises the issue of economic inequality. As humans we have the tendency to put a monetary value on things that we all need to survive. Time and time again that has resulted in a drastic difference in the quality of life a rich man can afford versus a poor man. The ability to put a monetary value on time would only result in a similar scenario: The rich would monopolize time, the poor would struggle to survive. 

    With the knowledge of history on our side we can reach the conclusion that the inability to have time as a commodity is a blessing in disguise; because if we did have that power, could any of us truly say it wouldn't be abused? 

    We are and will always be running out of time, that's life. Our only hope is that we can reach all of our aspirations before our clock finally stops and we reach that last deadline.


“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” -Harvey Mackay

Comments

  1. AnnieNovember 1, 2023 at 5:55 PM

    Nice blog post! I like the quote in the beginning. I find it to be a pretty good hook in the beginning. Furthermore, I like how you make your argument clear in the first paragraph, and give an example a certain part of your life you would want to allot more time too. However, I think the example would be more impactful and relevant if your focus was more on the joy you got from the times spent there, rather than the bed in general. Furthermore I found the second and third paragraph to diverge from this argument a little.To add strength to your argument, I think you could substitutue those paragraphs for one or two more examples of where you would like more time in your life. However, overall great essay!

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  2. Sophie AndersonNovember 1, 2023 at 7:20 PM

    I love how you flip the prompt to focusing on time as a commodity as opposed to money (it's intriguing to think about!) I also love how you bring in another perspective at the end where you caution the reader of the abuse that would come with the ability to buy time. When you start talking about your bed in the third and fourth paragraphs you lose the focus of time and instead talk more about your bed. I would either try to tie time back into the story (like how it can help you buy extra time in the afternoon in bed) or talk about another joy in life that time could buy you more time with. Great post!

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  3. SwapnilK.November 2, 2023 at 3:34 PM

    Nice post! Your essay starts with a strong quote from a movie, which immediately captures the reader's attention and sets the tone for your exploration of the topic. You nicely dive into the concept of time as a commodity in a very relatable manner. Your discussion about economic inequality and the possible exploitation of time as a resource adds depth to your argument. The historical context you bring into the essay strengthens your argument and gives the reader a broader perspective on the topic. You could try to expand more on the potential benefits of not monetizing time. Well done, Nyla!

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