Annie

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Annie. She was seventeen years old from a very poor family. She was the only person of her family to believe in a better tomorrow. Everyone else had given up and accepted that their destiny was settled in struggle and pain. They desired a better life, but didn’t know how to escape the poverty they lived in. Annie’s mother dreamt of winning the lotto while working at the local diner and her brother loved cars. So, he would spend his day detailing, repairing and remodeling when he wasn’t washing them at the local car wash.

Annie kept her dreams to herself. She watched her family toil day and night, brainstorming ways to break the seemingly curse they lived under. She began to watch the doings of people she wanted to live like. Not with envy and not with jealousy. She loved her family just the way they were. They were loving people who would often give their last dime to others in need. They were hard workers that never thought of cutting corners. Loyal, diligent, respectful, faith-holding people...who just lacked money.

Annie never bought into the idea that money was evil as she often heard others say. Money can’t walk, talk, or even think. It just sits. People move money. People give money value. People trade with money. Money is a measly piece of paper that one could buy a house with. What a funny thought. Something that could be destroyed by simply tearing apart with your fingers or twirling around in water, is so valuable and garners so much strife, misery, death, happiness, joy and peace. All together. That’s when she began to realize that money wasn’t the root of all evil or any evil. Money was whatever the beholder ascribed to it. She saw that people who lived more comfortably than she believed money was simply a tool and nothing more. She also saw how other people abused money and as a result, destroyed their lives or the lives of others. This tool was something that had to be used carefully. So she began to learn the best ways to utilize it.

It was the new knowledge of Annie that drove her brother to open his own car detailing business and take classes to learn how to manage his business. Annie’s mother also took heed by using her own gift of cooking to teach others on social media which began to flourish financially. Annie also taught her family about saving for rainy days and regularly investing a portion of their money for the future. Day by day, their struggle lessened. Change didn’t happen overnight but surely, came change.

Written and Copyright by L.B. Hamilton

All writings stem from life experience or imagination.