Don’t get me wrong — school is important, but I don’t want to give 100% anymore. I still want to pass, but I’m done spending my afternoons studying.

I want to write.

I can’t do both at the same time — there are only 24 hours in a day. I didn’t completely give up on school — I need to maintain my scholarship qualifications — but instead of burying my head inside a textbook all week, I write.

There’s always a trade-off in life, especially when it comes to time. Think of it as an opportunity cost. …

Nothing gets on my nerves more than someone who doesn’t pay their fair share of taxes. I’m looking at you, wealthy people. Not all of you — but certainly a good chunk — need to start paying up.

Tax loopholes are no stranger to the wealthy, and there’s a new one floating around — private jets. Private jet sales have gone up, and the rich pay no taxes on them, with some even receiving tax refunds.

And of course, this was inspired by Senator Kelly Loeffler after she purchased a private jet to exploit the tax system.

We need to…

When I first started on Medium, I was bombarded with articles on how to get curated, accepted into publications, and become a top writer. I didn’t know any better, so that’s all I focused on.

But I was a newbie. Why should I have to worry about that from the very beginning?

I think a lot of advice given about Medium is helpful towards people who already have experience writing. If you’ve never written an article before, your sole focus should be learning how to write articles. …

What bothered me? Other people’s opinions, no doubt. I didn’t act, sing, or dance in high school because I was too bothered with what others thought. I put people’s judgments above my own, and I started to suppress the things that made me unique.

Why did someone else’s opinion matter so much?

Being unbothered is easier said than done, and I’m in no way a master at this. Truthfully, being unbothered is an entire art form and needs consistent practice.

What happens when you stop letting others bother you? You can finally start living life on your own terms. You…

Thinking back on my past friendships, one person comes to mind — my “first best friend.” I was a shy sophomore in high school, and he was the first person to bring me out of my shell.

I became more out-going, more confident, and I started getting out of the house more.

I give him credit for forcing me out of my comfort zone, but was he a good friend? No, he was not. It took me years to realize it, but our friendship was quite destructive. …

The past two days have been bad. Not fun at all.

I’m in a funk, you could say.

I don’t know if I’m only speaking for myself, but one little thing can turn your day upside down. You don’t intend for it to ruin your day — sometimes it just happens. I found the worst way to deal with a bad day is to force a good day to happen. Sometimes, it’s just not there.

I can’t necessarily give you the advice to “wake up and smell the roses” because I’m terrible at it. We all know going for a…

I lost my scholarship two years ago, and I needed to pull out $5,000 in student loans to cover next semester’s tuition.

I wouldn’t need it for another six months, so I figured I’d put it in the stock market and earn a little money. Nothing could go wrong, right?

But when tuition came due, the market wasn’t looking so good. I had to withdraw the money and take the loss. I couldn’t wait for the market to go back up.

In the end, I lost about $300. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was a decent amount…

Is making money a goal? Think about it.

How much money? For what? When do you reach the goal? What happens after?

“Making money” is not a goal because it’s open-ended and too broad.

Money is the tool you use to reach your goals.

Making money can be an objective, but if that’s all we feel like we’re working towards, that’s not very exciting. Why are you making money? We all have our aspirations, but we need goals and action plans to get there.

There are three things a financial goal needs to be:

1. Specific
2. Realistic
3. Actionable

1. Get specific

When making a…