Growing up I was constantly told by my elders that my twenties would be the time of my life. They would be amazing and fun and wonderful. They, however, were incorrect. Don't get me wrong, the early 20s are a wonderful thing. You're young, your independence is fresh and freeing and you probably have a plan of how the next few years should go. However, during the mid to late 20s something shifts. You go from being young and (over)confident to slightly more mature while somehow feeling less mature and experienced than ever before.
Have Your Voice Heard: Become an Odyssey Creator
This doesn't apply to all mid to late 20 year olds. In fact quite a few of my peers have found their way through college without so much as a hiccup, found a job that pays well and has benefits, into marriage with a nice house, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. However, for every 20 something who found their way, there is another 20 something out there, like myself and so many others, who is still trying to figure it out.
See, I can't blame those from older generations too much. For them, their 20s were the time of their lives. They were able to explore their independence then fall into a comfortable and successful life. Society allowed and encouraged it, as did the economy.
For myself and my peers though, things haven't gone so smoothly. We have all grown up expecting to have the same opportunities as those who came before us but that has not been the case. The price of college is sky high, loans are drowning so many of us in debt, relationships are more often than not complicated and leaning more towards "situationships," don't even get me started on the housing market, and let's not dive too deep into our low wages despite many having a degree or two or eons of work experience.
Many like to call my generation lazy and entitled, though I don't find that to be true in my experience. I know so many people, myself included, who have a strong work ethic and want nothing more than a single job that we can dedicate ourselves and our time to that also pays the bills. Instead many of us are stuck juggling multiple jobs and still not making enough, or juggling school and work just trying to make it through another day. By the time we'd all reached our mid 20s we had hoped we would have things figured out and settled into a nice life like our parents and grandparents did at our age. However we haven't been so fortunate. As I talk with each of my friends I find so many are in the same boat. Currently working too hard for too little and unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
However there does seem to be a tiny ray of hope in this struggle we're all navigating together. Despite the odds being stacked against us, we are finding ways to persevere and shine. Though it may not be in the traditional way or the way we had planned, we are somehow making it through. Be it working two jobs or juggling school and work. It's tiresome and deeply problematic but somehow we're getting it done. Learning to differentiate between good and bad relationships despite the ways of dating changing constantly. Someway, somehow, we're making it there. With the ever increasing cost of college, those who want to attend are finding a way and others have found ways to be successful without a degree.
So, to all those who are currently struggling to create a life they were promised if we just "worked hard enough", for those who are on the verge of a breakdown because of all the extra work we have to do just to break even, we're getting there. We're going to make it.
