Many believe that the modern world that we live in could not be more damaging and selfish."It all revolves around money and technology these days! When I was young, I was enjoying life, not like these robots!" my grandfather keeps saying to me every time I come to visit."Don't follow the same path, girl. When you get old and wrinkly, the number of cars you own does not matter."But is he right? What could a man that doesn't even understand the concept of touch screen know?
     Sally was never the best dressed among her classmates. She never had the newest shoes or the sparkly backpacks all the girls seemed to be carrying. She never noticed, she never really cared until someone pointed it out."Is this the new janitor?","Nice potato sack you have going on there! Do you need a trash can on your head to go with it?"She was confused at first. She wasn't used to being treated this way. Her parents always did their best to make her happy: they even managed to pay for private school because they were aware of Sally's potential.
She started getting this kind of comments every day. She blamed herself, she blamed her parents, she blamed God, she blamed everyone until there was no one else left to blame. Sally quickly realized that she had one thing above all those spoiled kids: a good heart and a one of a kind mind. It was her duty to show them wrong and be the smarter person so she continued to work hard and grow into an intelligent, independent woman and she too had a lot of money. At first, she was happy with the job and possessions she had earned. Now, she too had pretty clothes, new shoes, and expensive cars. But that feeling of fulfillment didn't last too long. Sally wanted more: she wanted houses on the beach and up in the mountains, she wanted islands and castles so she started pushing herself harder. She started to ignore mom's good-night calls as well as the homeless person she used to greet and help every morning. She drained herself in work, slowly forgetting about the world around her... Until she died. Just like she came to this world. Like a normal person.
  So, is my grandpa right? If I don't want to end up living a greedy, miserable life like Sally I need to, what? Drop out of school? Well, not quite. You see, it's like a never-ending circle: you see someone with a lot of money and you want to be like them because you think it's going to make you happy. But the truth is, once you start, you can never stop: you always want more and more and you're eventually going to realize that you spent your life chasing worthless things. And you are going to regret it. And it's going to be too late to go back.
   So enjoy your life. Don't dwell on material crap to make you happy and look at the beauty around you. Go tell your mom you love her and stare at the sunrise.