Of Money and Men

Hello lovely people!
I am terribly sorry for the lack of action on my part, but my work load has dramatically increased lately, so I just barely have enough time to make sure I get enough sleep to stay awake the next day.
Not my choice, for sure.

But, either way, this is simply a rant of sorts. I haven't done these in quite a while, so I thought, "Hey, why not".

Anyways, this is going to be on the topic of money.
It's something we all need to survive, yet I hate its power.

To think, our lives are circulated around mere numbers, symbols, pieces of colored paper, and tiny metal disks! We grow up learning that we need to work hard in school in order to get a good job. That a good job would guarantee us a good life. But what defines a "good" job? Why, one that gives a high amount of payment of course! Sure, sure, they say "it's a job you love and enjoy", or "it'll help you get your dream job". But really, is it a dream job they're encouraging you to get, or the money that a job would give you?

For instance, a young, innocent child looks up at their parents, with wide shining eyes, then promptly says, with a slight slur from the gap where their front teeth should be, "I wanna be a painter when I grow up!".

Now, some parents might be encouraging. Others would probably immediately shoot that child's dreams down. Because, in this crazy, messed-up world we live in, and call reality, being an actual painter, as what would be considered an actual job, isn't what children think it is. Now, you either need to come from a rich family, with tons of talent and immediate fame, or, which is more common than the aforementioned circumstances, work for a company such as Disney or Pixar, and draw what they wish you to draw.
Compare that to the free-lance artists of the past, such as Monet, or Van Gogh. What naive kids think what being a painter is like. Can we honestly say that society as a majority encourages that kind of "work"?

Corruption is by money, but money causes corruption.

It's like the idea of fame. Everyone wishes for it, by various means. But once you do reach it, the other people who have also reached the goal of fame influence your thoughts and your actions, changing you to a different person than who you used to be.

And maybe we simply change ourselves without noticing, and without other people's input. The question is, is it for better, or for worse?