PhotoCredit: Thirdman.
Like most young people involved in activism, I have too frequently heard the dreaded phrase that reduced my passion to naiveté: “Just wait until you enter the real world.” Back in my early days of advocacy, I told myself I would never allow my hope to fall victim to that kind of cynicism. Now, I am a recent graduate one year out of college and into that elusive real world—and I must admit, I have felt the determination on which I stood my ground starting to shake. The change I feared can first be attributed to the burden guaranteed to wear down even the most youthful: the cost of living. While I consider myself to have been a responsible kid, pleased to study for school, work summer jobs, and complete household chores with little fuss, earning good grades and some summer savings does not get you as far in the real world. I have larger financial responsibilities than ever before, including the student loan payments that kicked in a few months ago, and the expenses I have to manage will only pile higher as the years continue.
Once you are in the real world, getting a decent job is an even more elusive endeavor. It is one matter to have the fortune of securing adequate pay and perhaps even a manageable work-life balance. It is another to find work that fulfills you. In school, we are encouraged to think critically, to advocate for what we care about, to engage with people, to create—altogether, to explore. The expectations for our working lives often turn out to be quite the opposite. In the real world, it becomes a privilege to be able to devote our time to work that aligns with our talents, interests, and values. Addressing the existential ramifications of work can feel pointless when we must be grateful we have a job and can afford our basic needs in the first place. With much less breathing room, the transition from student to earner is bound to make your dearest hopes and dreams, whether it be solving world hunger or opening a bakery, feel juvenile.
However, the future ahead appears grim for reasons that extend beyond the normal anxieties of responsible adulthood. Typical financial milestones such as purchasing a home are farther out of reach for working young people than ever before. The careers we set our minds to may not even exist in a couple of decades as automation and globalization shift the landscape of work for coming generations. Mental health is at new lows due to social isolation and collective anxiety about crises beyond our control, from the tangible effects of climate change to a global rise in authoritarianism. We are reminded every day of all that is going wrong through social media platforms designed for digital overload. This all goes to say that the state of the real world could squeeze the hope right out of you. If the generations above me felt they did not have the time or energy to care about making a change, how is my generation supposed to?
After taking mere baby steps into the real world, I understand my parents’ cynicism a bit more than before. However, I will not give in to their thinking just yet. The future is uncertain, but it does not mean we should be sure we are doomed. That is our role as youth: to hold onto hope. Most of humanity before us believed they were facing the end of times, and we have persisted anyway. Having the strength to believe in a better world, even in the face of frightening and changing times, may be the most grown-up thing I can do.
