“Money and success don’t change people, they merely amplify what is already there.-“ Will Smith.
Growing up, my parents were a little overprotective. Although they had their reasons, they might have taken things a bit too far. My siblings and I were not allowed to go out to play. Our compound was big enough for friends to come over, though. Despite this, I still had a few friends who would often visit me at home to play. Of all my childhood friends, one in particular was especially close to me. His parents were not believers. They were neither Muslims nor Christians, but they didn’t mind their child going with me to church. We would go to church every Saturday and Sunday. Over time, he fell in love with my church’s doctrine. Our bond felt unbreakable. It felt like we would remain “strong” friends forever. There were times I envisioned that he would be my best man on my wedding day. I mean, we had this conversation many times; that I would be his best man and he would be mine.
Our friendship was going well. Even when I went to boarding school and came back, we still maintained the friendship as if nothing had happened in the first place. We thought we could handle anything as long as we were together. But with time, I realized I was only being childish and I had not seen anything in life. Back then, we were teenagers who only cared about having fun and doing really cool things. I remember our obsession with bicycles. At the time, neither of us could afford a bicycle, our parents wouldn’t get it for us no matter how many times we bugged them. So what we did was to sneak out of our houses and go rent bicycles. We did this many times even after we got caught. These were all childhood memories. None of us knew that the real thing was ahead.
After we graduated from high school, our priorities changed. We grew older so it was only right that our priorities would change. It changed from obsession with bicycles to money. Not just money; a lot of money. We stopped talking about bicycles; that didn’t even cross our minds, but we started looking for ways to make money. Unknowing to me, my friend was desperate. He sought money and success, regardless of what method. He was ready to do both legal and illegal things as long as they brought him money.
We both gained admission into different universities and school sessions widened the gap between us. When he got into the university, he was exposed to illegal means of making money and he grabbed it with both hands. He got really busy with whatever it was that gave him wealth and the friendship I thought was unbreakable shattered in no time.
“He changed because he got rich.” I used to think this way. In fact, I used to resent him. But I realized something: he got busy with life. Who am I to resent him for getting busy with life? Did I even try to reach out to him first? I didn’t reach out to him. I only assumed that since he got rich he probably doesn’t want the friendship to continue. So, one day, I reached out to him and he explained himself. It is true that money changed him and he has a lot of other things to worry about in life, but he promised to always make sure we check in with each other regularly. Every now and then, we check in with each other just to make sure everything is fine.
It's true that money and success can corrupt people. However, before you conclude, try reaching out first to see if they've actually changed and if they don't care about the friendship anymore. It might just be that they've gotten busy with life, and their priorities have changed. You shouldn't be mad about that. That's life. Do you think you would do better if you were in their shoes?
This is my entry for the sci-fi multiverse prompt for week 31. The topic is: THE DRASTIC SOCIAL CHANGE THAT COMES WITH SUCCESS.
Thanks for reading.
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