As kids we’re always told about all the things we can do when we’re older. We dream about the beautiful houses we might own, and the college experiences we’ll have, and all the jobs we could do—not because of how much money they make, but because we would truly love it.
As we progress into life, it becomes clear that most of these dreams are slipping further and further out of our reach.
Throughout our childhood, we always hear the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
As we get to that age of actually deciding what the answer is, the harder it gets to come to a conclusion. It’s not just about what you want to do anymore—it’s about what will pay enough just to get you to the next month.
However, the career is only half the decision. Finding a way to get to where you want to be—without going into debt—is the other half. As of now it seems like colleges are more worried about the money that they make rather than the well-being of their students.
Even if we manage to get a good job, housing prices are rising faster than the minimum wage can pay us. Since the time when our parents were buying their starter houses, the market has increased by almost 150%. While housing prices soar, the minimum wage hasn’t changed since 2009. It is practically impossible to survive, let alone live our lives up to expectations of the past.
Just yesterday we were kids, now we’re teenagers about to graduate, and tomorrow we’ll be young adults trying to find our place in the world.
The dreams we had will soon fade into distant memories as our pockets empty and we’re 6 feet under in debt.
That’s when we’ll realize that the “American Dream” we waited for was just that—a dream.
