Money doesn’t grow on trees. It takes hours to make and seconds to lose. Money doesn’t flow infinitely. And yet for many people at MVHS, money has seemed to grow on trees, or just materialize into pockets. In fact, according to a survey of 372 MVHS students, 96 percent of them consider Cupertino to be an affluent area. Having a constant flow of money is now the standard, not a privilege. This apparent abundance of money at MV has made not having an endless reserve of money an anomaly. Those few less-affluent are the minority, trapped behind the illusion of wealth. The complete, authentic Cupertino is hidden behind a curtain of affluence. It’s time to flip the coin and look at the true Cupertino, both the shining side and the gritty side. It’s time to re-evaluate what money means to us and ask ourselves the question: what is the value of money?