Take Stock
I never knew anything about the stock market until this year. And even now I know very little. Everything I know is from Mr. Vaughn's math class, where he challenged us to invest fake money into the stock market and purchase shares of companies. Whoever made the most artificial money over the span of the school year won the glory and personal happiness of winning, so obviously my pride kicked in and I tried my best to win. I learned some terminology along the way.
Shares
Bonds
Investment
Interest Rate
Stock
This may have been a fun challenge within the safe confines of a classroom, but it taught me a much deeper lesson than the intended financial lesson.
We share with people and it creates a bond. Which bonds will you invest in? Who interests you? Take stock of your friends.
Let me break it down a little bit. Since kindergarten, we have been bred to realize the necessity of sharing, whether we enjoy it or not. Sharing does not always mean handing over your toys or food to the kid next to you. Sharing is also memories, feelings, and general conversation. I share a place with everyone who has ever gone to Walsh. Only Walsh alumni know Pearl's cookies and the distinct Walshy feeling of walking down the carpeted halls. I share more specific memories with those who went on the Rome trip, those who work at Kriegers... you get the point. You don't have to sit down and purposely share. Sharing is inevitable within life, which, despite the inexhaustible variety within it, proves time and again that we live on a small planet. You are bound to meet someone of similar background. You will share emotions and morals and places. As the Beatles eloquently state, as they always seem to do, "All these places have their moments. Of lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living. In my life I loved them all." We share with people of all sorts who all have one thing in common with us. And through these vast and deep connections, we bond with them. One strong example of this is sports. Growing up in the Cleveland area, the mistake by the lake, I have seen the strong bonds of sharing a place. Simply because I was born in a certain location, I love the Cavs, and hope them luck as this series unfolds, the Indians, praying they make it back to the World Series, and even the perpetually horrible Browns. This love is a mutual love with everyone in Northeast Ohio. We win together and we lose together. Today, we probably wore cavs jerseys and saw several other people doing the same. We were united for the sake of cheering on our team. And after we won the championship last year, whenever we saw strangers wearing cavs shirts we went "ahhhhh!!!" Viciously in their faces, slapping their hands and rehashing the experience. You don't even have to have been there together. You both share the emotion of elation when seeing the cavs win that seventh game. This happens continuously in life. You may have never talked to someone in your high school, but you attended the same one and shared emotions and experiences within it that are similar, if not identical. This comraderie is the human bonds that we strive for and keep us living ... these points are literally the point of our existence.
But. What will you invest in?
This is ultimately up to you. Who will you look at and see their potential and invest in? Who will you choose to share with and create bonds. Because, as we know from the stock market, one bad investment could wreck you. You have to choose wisely. There's a saying that goes "if you show me your five best friends, I'll show you your future." Meaning, who you surround yourself with has a profound impact on your soul and mind. Their influence on you can make you a drug addict or the next mother Theresa. I have made friends with people who encouraged me to get out and do things and other friends who brought me down and insisted that everything sucks. Those pessimistic people are a bad investment, like underarmor this year when it plummeted. Don't invest in them.
How do you determine who to invest in? Their interest rate. Do they intrigue you? Or are you the one carrying the burden of constantly conversing with no answer? Do they eat a wide range of foods and tell cool stories? Do they see the world and take every opportunity as if it could be their big break? How interesting are they? Now. That's not to say that interesting people are always inherently good and boring people intrinsically bad. It simply is an important point... why be friends with someone who doesn't leave their house to see you? Also, in the money world, interest rates fluctuate and can benefit you immensely or not really at all. Why invest in something with a 2% interest rate when you can invest in something with a 10% interest rate and make all sorts of extra money? It's the same with humans. Why invest in someone who isn't doing anything for you? Your friendships should benefit you. Not in the shape of money, but in the not-so-tangible concept of happiness, laughter, safety, respect, love, and aid in your future. They should invest in you just as much as you invest in them.
"better stop and take stock while you're standing here stuck" Anna Kendrick sings from the steps of the palace in Disney's rendition of Into the Woods. So do it. It's summer. Summer is always a transition period, especially for us seniors becoming freshman this summer. While we're stuck in this whirlwind of transitions, let's take stock of our investments. Do you need to rearrange your money? Adjust the amounts within each investment? Sell stocks? Buy more? Remember, the stock market is volatile, just like life. But as long as you pay attention, crashes are rare. Sell when you need to. Be careful and research before buying something new, and make sure you check the market each day.
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