14

growing up in a Christian family and going to church every friday and sunday, i heard about how important tithing is, and how you can't worship both God and money. of course, at the tender age of 12, money to me was the 25cents i got each week for helping with the dishes. as i grew, so did my money. so now, my parents only pay for the basics: food, shelter, and education. of course, i'm not complaining, because my parents have raised me to be financially responsible and i've always had enough spending money to support my purse and random junk addiction. so now that i'm in college and making my own decisions, i am also making more decisions about how to spend my money, and my time (because after all, time is money). and it wasn't until today that i realized just how easy it is to worship money, but how impossible it is to worship money and God.

as we all know, today was Easter sunday. arguably one of the most important days in the Christian faith. i know people who only go to church twice a year- Christmas and Easter. however, we also all know, Easter Brunch is one of the most traditional meals of the year. next to Thanksgiving dinner of course. so naturally, working at a restaurant, Easter Brunch is a pretty big deal to us. and, being the money-hungry little girl i am, i willingly volunteered to work Easter morning. oh, i also work sunday nights, so yes, i worked what we call a double-shift. aka 14 hours straight. and oh what a splendid 14 hours they were. my day went from cute little girls in fluffy dresses to old men in bathrobes watching espn. for the past week, when i first found out i would be working Easter morning, i had this little nagging in the back of my mind. the nagging then became audible through the voice of my dearest roommate. i knew i was chosing money over God, because as much as i love taverna banfi, the only reason i volunteered to work was for the money. so i took what is the most important Christian holiday, and turned it into an opportunity for profit for me. how selfish and worldly of me. and i knew God didn't approve. obviously. and, you can call me crazy or whatever, but i know me getting sick was God trying to get me to change my ways, and not go to work. but i did anyways. so then i got a bloody nose (gross, right?) and i saw this as sign two. of course, the bloodynose came at around hour 11, so it was too late by then. but as i sat in the bathroom, staring at the bloody monstrosity in the mirror, i promised God i would try to change.

the first 20 years of my life, i was fine without "making bank" and pulling doubles. i don't need hundreds of dollars in tips to be happy. why am i working so hard, for something that is worth so little? of course, i will admit, it's nice to be financially secure (relatively speaking), and be able to buy pretty, expensive toys (like purses and jewelry), but how important are those things really? in the bigger picture, isn't there more to life? and what am i doing with mine? okay, that's enough of the rhetorical questions. lesson of the day: money isn't everything. it can't buy happiness. find what's important to you, and don't let it go for all the world.


on another note, this week is going to be a big week. not only because i have 2 prelims, for which i am totally unprepared, but by the end of this week, i'll know where i'm going to be this summer, which has big implications for my future. gosh, i'm moving along in the world. scary to think, eh?