Tyanna Linton 

The Essay

Professor Moore

October 19th, 2022

“Money Definitely Doesn’t Grow On Trees”

Money is not the most important thing in life. But it is definitely needed to live off in life. As a young girl at the age of 8. I discovered that myself. Growing up I was always raised to be independent. If I wanted something, “I needed to work for it” and that was the motto I got from my parents. For me, money was never handed to me. I had to do well in school or get my chores done in order to receive money. Not only that, but I also learned at a very young age, how to wash and fold my laundry. Therefore I was given money to do laundry as well.  But, those were the basics. I realized money’s significant  when I started middle school.

I could remember moving from 5th to 6th grade like it was yesterday. I have never traveled in New York City, by myself before. Therefore, getting to school was always giving me a hard time. My allowance was $20 per week. I had to stretch the money from Monday to Friday. Since I started to take dollar cabs to school all my money would be done. The funny part is it’s called a dollar cab but really and truly it was two dollars for a ride. Every second I would hear horns go Beep Beep Beep Beep  (Onomatopoeia)and then” Utica, Utica, Utica”. I used to yell back “FREE FREE FREE?” Boy I wish the cab was one dollar. I would tip that driver all the money in the world. (Hyperbole )But, I know that they will never be. Those cab drivers don’t play about their coins, Okay. Then with these gas prices, the price may even go to $4.00. 

I remembered one day after school, I was at my friend’s house. At school we will always have shows after school. My friends and I had formed a group with various students who had talents.  There were no qualifications. All you needed was talent. Everyday after school we would stay back and make up dances for two hours, Monday through Friday. However, one Friday, one of my friends’ mom always took us to their house. We would watch movies, sing songs, play games and even practice our dances. Sometimes we would even go out to eat or go somewhere that’s fun.

 The last day of 5th grade was our final show. After the show, my friend’s mom decided to have an after party. All the parents were notified that this party was happening. But before we arrived at the house. I wanted some French fries. So, we stopped at McDonald’s. One thing about McDonald’s, was their fries were always bussing. Especially when they’re fresh, hot and have a good amount of salt.  Sometimes, I eat so much of the fries I feel like I am going to turn into the fry (Simile).Hours went by and the party ended at 5:00pm. My friend’s mom walked me to the bus stop and I waited on the bus. 

However, the bus was taking too long. Therefore, I took the famous dollar cab. After two stops passed. The bus driver asked me for the money. When I reached in my pocket, I realized the two dollars I had were now gone. I just remembered those delicious fries. I told the driver I don’t have any money. The driver then said I am sorry but you are going to have to get out. 

 I then called my dad to come get me because I had no more money. He said to Tyanna , I gave you twenty dollars. ” I said “ Dad, twenty dollars is not enough.” “I had two dollars left but I was really hungry, so I spent it”. My dad then replied “ Yuh did wah !!,  yuh have food in a di house, why yuh ah guh buy street food”. I then replied “ Dad, I’ve been at school all day. ” You know I don’t like their lunch, so I had to get a small fries today”. My dad then replied “Call your mom”. But my dad knew, my mom just came back from Jamaica and she didn’t have a stable job yet.

I was completely embarrassed.  I called my friend and her mom. I told them what happened and how my dad handled the situation and she felt so bad for me. They took a cab to get me and then brought me home. We had a long conversation about what happened. Surprisingly, she decided to let me help her take care of her two youngest kids. On the weekends, I take care of them whenever I come to hang out with my friend. I started working there the following weekend and I absolutely enjoyed it. Plus, I went from having $20 a week to having $60 every weekend. She even realized how much I started to enjoy taking care of the kids. So it went from $60 to $120. Every time I think back on this situation it was bittersweet(Oxymoron). My dad’s reaction to what happened was very disappointing. But seeing how my friend’s mom stepped in to help me, actually made everything ten times better. She even helped me create a goal chart, it helped me manage my money from things I needed to things I wanted.

 However, having only twenty dollars was why it was so hard to get lunch and travel to school. The sad part is back in the day, you could get chips, juice, soda and some candy for one dollar. Therefore twenty was more than enough. But, for me it was literally nothing. At a very young age, I never realized it, but I slowly learned about budgeting my money and still till this day, I use the same technique. I spend my money first on what’s important and use the rest on savings and personal spending. 

All in all, learning about money at a young age has enabled me to be able to manage my money as well as my credit cards. Now I realized, money definitely doesn’t go on trees. I have to work for my money everyday. But in those days, I had to work every weekend. But one thing for sure is, I am actually happy that I am able to be in a position where I can pay for the things that are important in my life. Not only that but I also enjoy the effect I leave after my work is done. As you grow older, you tend to realize how much money is really significant in your life. Without having some sort of money you can become homeless and have no access to food. This has also taught me that money could be used for good and bad reasons. That’s why when I have money or even food. I always try to give back to the homeless because I can only imagine how they feel on a regular basis knowing they have nowhere to come home to or have a nice cooked meal.