it's not about the money, money, money

Yesterday I had my grad party and I won't go into the specifics of it, but I made a decent amount of money from it.

To me it isn't about the money. I would've had just as much fun if I made $500 as if I made $50,000. It's about the company that surrounded me yesterday. The only thing I like about the money is deciphering it. I like looking into where it came from.

I opened around forty cards yesterday. About half were filled with checks and half had straight cash. Checks come across as more professional, more white collar. Cash seems to be more blue collar.

You can see how the cash was earned by the shape it's in. Some cash was hard earned; rips, crumpled bills, and slight tears show the money has exchanged hands many times.

20s, 10s, and 5s are the most exchanged. They're the easiest to come by.

100s and 50s are most times very crisp bills.

Oftentimes you see the name on the card and wonder how they could afford to give as much as they did.

It isn't about whether the person gave a lot or a little relative to their income. It's the fact that they came and spent time with me on my day.

Family came from far and wide and friends made sure they stopped by. A select few that I didn't expect to see even showed up for a while. Some left and came back multiple times and others were there for the entirety. Different partygoers show different attitudes toward the graduate. Leaving and coming back shows they're there for you but have to stop other places. It shows they care enough to show you their loyalty and at the end of the day they want to be with you. Staying the whole time shows another sense of loyalty. They want you to know they're there for you and that they aren't leaving until the end. Some people never showed up.

Grad parties show you a lot about the friends you have. It also shows you a lot about how people earn their money and how easily they give it away. All in all my friends and family were very generous.

The best gifts weren't cash though. They were a picture frame, a movie, a coffee maker, and marbles.

Back to regular life now...

NP: If I Ruled The World- Nas