About

I was an average kid in high school; I played football, hung out with friends more than I studied, worked part time jobs, and didn't particularly care about learning anything I was being taught. Ok maybe I was below average in the school part, but I don't think that many high school students are really focused on the future. This behavior only got worse in my first years of college. I failed half of my classes my freshman year; a full semester out the window. I had this feeling in my body that I couldn't describe back then, but now I know it was the back of my head telling me that I was on the wrong path. I was ready for a change and wasn't very set on studying Livestock Production, so I decided to transfer to Florida Gulf Coast University.

 

In my first semester here, I had an epiphany while taking Professional Development Skills and knew it was time to get serious about my future. I traded all the partying for reading and self-improvement and started to actually love school; it was very weird to get used to. That decision changed the course my life dramatically. I found a passion for finance and self-improvement and started reading all sorts of personal finance, investing, and philosophy books. Even the fiction books I was reading were rooted in wise life advice.

 

I find that many men in my generation, maybe women too, deal with the same anxious and depressing thoughts I was having everyday. I don't know if this is because of social media or just the lack of certainty that comes with being 20 years old, but something needs to change. I found that these thoughts stopped once I started focusing on getting better everyday and looking at how bright my future can be. I eventually want to help young people navigate every area of their life, but I am starting with personal finance because it is what I study the most and it's what got me to major in finance in the first place.

 

Financial literacy is a skill that everybody needs to have and it is not taught enough in school. I want to make it so that everyone stops stressing about their finances and builds confidence in a plan that they set. Everybody has the potential to be wildly successful, but it takes serious commitment and sacrifice, especially in your finances.