[At last Wednesday's Awakin Circle in Santa Clara, the poetic passage, What You Missed That Day You Were Absent In Fourth Grade, prompted so many rich stories of memorable teachers in our lives. In particular, Shobhit recounted this sweet story of an impressionable childhood lesson from his mother -- on the price and pricelessness of money, candy, and integrity.]

I'm reminded of a time when I didn't know what money is, and my first lesson in the nuances of its value. :)

So of course I knew what money is, but I didn't know whether $1 was bigger, or 50 cents was bigger, or if 25 cents was bigger. :) My mom would sometimes give us small change -- around 25 cents -- and outside the school there was a small stall where they sold candies. There, 25 cents could buy you a lot of candies! :)

One day, as I was taking a stroll, I happened to find a dollar. It was a dollar coin. I was very happy about it, and I eagerly went to that candy stall to buy some candy with it. :) I pointed to a candy, and asked, "How much is that?"

"25 cents."

I pointed to another. "How much is this one?"

"Ten cents".

"How much is that one?"

"Five cents."

I started getting frustrated. "Don't you have anything for a dollar?" I asked. :)

The man there simply said, "No," and I left.

At that time, I didn't realize that a dollar was worth more than all of those individual candies, :) so I walked back into the school. It was our recess break, so I still had fun.

At the end of the day, when I saw my mom, I asked her, "Mom, how much is a dollar worth?"

"Why are you asking this question?" she answered.

I told her, "I just want to know because I found a dollar, and I want to know how much it's worth so I can spend it."

To which she immediately replied, "Someone else's dollar is worth nothing."

That was it. And we gave the dollar to charity.

That was one of my first lessons for me on what money is.