Is Being Rich Overrated?

By Curtis (Age 15, HKIS)

In the extremely capitalistic environment of Hong Kong, where people are constantly striving to earn more money, people work to not enjoy the results of what they are doing, but only to earn more money to spend. So, rich people are defined by having a lot of money. They have money that they typically don't need and can't finish spending if they didn't go buying everything they wanted with thinking twice.

The question is, is being a rich person overrated? Is being a rich person not as good and glamorous as it is emphasized in the media today? I think that being rich is overrated. This is because being rich in the first place requires a lot of hard work or a very lucky birth. People who are rich normally have a lot of responsibilities, more so than ordinary people. That is because while they have to not only worry about their jobs, they also might have to worry about when their new boat is arriving, when their car is getting fixed, how the company is doing, and many other things that require the attention of people who are used to being in control and the boss of a company.

Being a rich person also means that you have to constantly worry about other people being jealous of you, or your wife not happy with you because you forgot to send her a birthday present of a new handbag from Italy that cost 100,000 dollars. Being a rich person means you can consume more and have more materialistic things, but it also means you have to give more of your attention to consuming material things. If I had 10 pairs of shoes, each morning it would be a hard decision about which one I would wear. If I had 2 pairs, it would be a matter of which one I wore yesterday, or what I feel like wearing today. Rich people may seem to have more, but they mostly feel very unhappy and have more pressure.

Buying things only gives you a temporary happiness. It only gives you a moment spark of something new and that feeling will dissipate two days later when you put what you bought with your other "new" but forgotten things. People act and say that only by consuming and getting more will they feel happy but is that really happiness? Or is it just a way to cover up the emptiness of making so much money, yet not knowing what to use it for? Or even the purpose of earning so much money in the first place? People today feel that if you have money and a lot of material things, then you must be a happy person. That you live a successful and good life. But, like the Fancl commercial (less IS more), when I have fewer material things, fewer things that I can consume, the weight of it all gradually is reduced. I don't have to worry about my new car getting scratched, my new phone getting stolen, and my new watch getting smashed. None of that will happen.

So if people have enough to get by and make decisions on their own, then their lives are the best in my opinion. They can indulge in luxury once in a while, yet can maintain a low key lifestyle that they feel comfortable with. They don't have the stress and emptiness that all material things bring, yet can jump into the world of materialism once in a while for a taste. So strive to be wealthy in terms of spirituality and ethics and life goals, because they will bring you happiness. Don't strive to be rich.