Cash rules everything around me/C.R.E.A.M. get the money/Dolla dolla bill, y’all.”
If you are familiar with 1990s rap, then you will know this infamous Wu-Tang Clan lyric.

While it may have a different meaning to the rappers, I relate the lyric to life itself. I relate it to the cold hard fact that in this world, money rules all. Cash is the only thing that matters to people today, and a lot of the time it can force you to overlook what you really want in life, especially when it comes to your career.

Most people today work 9-to-5 jobs doing paperwork they don’t care about, interacting with people they don’t like, working for a boss they can’t stand, all for a job they didn’t even want in the first place.

I had my passions, but then I would imagine where I wanted to be years from now.

What kind of house do I want to live in? What car do I wanted to drive? Will I be financially stable enough to provide for my family every day? Those thoughts scared me.

For in today’s world, money matters. We all want to be financially stable and be able to afford the things we want. It was this mindset that caused me to ignore my main passions and start thinking of other jobs that I had no interest in, ones that could provide me with the money I needed.

Then two individuals made me change my mind.

The first was my mom. Every day I would see her come home from work and the more I began to really look at her, the more I could see how unhappy she seemed.

The second was my uncle, who for years had told me that while I may have had my passions, I had to think realistically about my future and choose a job that was more stable. Suddenly, however, his outlook changed.

He told me how he didn’t enjoy the job he had and how he desired to run his own business with my step-aunt. He said he didn’t want to see me doing a job I was unhappy with.

That was what did it for me. I decided that while those jobs may have given me a lot of money, and no doubt would have given me the financial stability I needed in the future, the fact still remained that I wasn’t going to enjoy doing it.

My passions are to be involved in professional wrestling and to become a writer, and I know those are the things I want to do with the rest of my life. Are they long-lasting careers? No. Do they always pay well? No, but those are the sacrifices that I can make in exchange for my happiness, which I believe is most important.

People should dream to not only do something that they are passionate about, but to do something that makes them happy instead of what can get them a quick buck.

Instead of C.R.E.A.M., maybe it should be P.R.E.A.M.

Passion rules everything around me, P.R.E.A.M. Get the money, for something you love, y’all.