I'm 23. In the prime of my life. I should feel on top of the world right now. Like the possibilities are endless. Like there are no limitations. Like this world belongs to me.

I feel none of that. I feel the exact opposite, actually. I'm 23. I feel like I've been buried in a suffocating coffin far below civilization where no one, not even myself can rescue me. I feel like I'm doomed to feel this way forever. Like my life will never really belong to me ever again.

They say America is the 'Land of the Free.' To some extent, it is. People come here from all around the world in hopes of starting a new life. That's part of what makes this country unique from the rest, even though this particular aspect is being threatened as I write this.

Since I was a kid, I've felt like people have had certain expectations of me. You're supposed to get good grades in school so you can get into an accredited university. Then, you graduate and find a well-paying job so you can live comfortably, pay off your student debt and retire. You find someone to settle down with, buy a house with a white picket fence and have two kids. Maybe even a dog.

That's not really a reality for people like me, or for a majority of millennials in student debt. As of 2017, around 1.3 million college students graduate with some type of college debt. I've been out of school for a year and half and have been working at a customer service job for that same amount of time. Every day, I worry about how I'm going to pay my bills, pay off my student debt while also finding time to enjoy life and putting away money for an emergency.

This is a reality for a majority of Americans. While the President has everything he could ever want or need for a few lifetimes, there are people like me, struggling to survive. Then again, I guess life isn't fair. My parents weren't kidding.

You might say the American dream is outdated. Dead. Or it could be as alive as ever. It means something different to each individual person. Instead of forcing old societal standards on our youth, we should focus more on what they may want to get out of life.

If they want to go to university, teach them to work hard for it and to get as much funding as possible because it's not cheap by any means. It will set you back for the rest of your life financially. To not end up in the situation I'm in, it begins with a bit of research and self-teaching.

I hope there will be a day where I no longer feel like this. Where I don't feel lost and hopeless and scared for the future. Like I'm going to be trapped in this bleak, financial pit forever.

Then again, maybe this is the new American dream.