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It may seem odd but you can place the blame on Bill Clinton who sold the USA to commie red china. He sealed that deal with the creation of the EPA. In effect Bill Killed the economy and sold your age group's birth rite out to the ENEMY.
I will be 62 in Nov.
If you're really 61 then you're old enough to remember the Nixon years. Nixon is the one who started the ball rolling on selling us out to the Chinese with that little vacation in '72. The Nixon era is when the rot began to set in for the American middle class.
Oh, and Nixon created the EPA too. By executive order. In 1970.
I look at my generation and I see two groups of people who have gotten ahead, those who's families have money and they were able to go to college or the incredibly smart ones who got lucky and landed a scholarship to a decent college.
My friends who didn't come from money have either little to no college, this group includes myself.
While I can't speak for everyone, I feel like I can speak for a few more than just myself.
My outlook on society and life is a bleak one. I see very little light at the en of the proverbial tunnel and still not quite sure if that light is a train, I'm hoping not.
I feel as if I have two choices, continue on my current path and forever remain in my position or throw myself into insane amount of debt with student loans to obtain a degree which may or may not get me a job, mind you a job that may or may not be enough to cover my finances and the loan payments.
Keep in mind I would be fighting against others my age and people my parents ages for these jobs because 24 and 44 year olds are battling it out for a min wage position at your local Walmart.
So my view and I feel a substantial few other feel the same as I do.
Why try?
Who knows 3 years from now when I finish said degree the economy could be in an even worse state.
Last night I had an epiphany, my mind was opened to a whole new thought, theft.
I see why people turn to it, I understand it, not saying I'd do it but I fully get it. I work hard for what I do have and I still don't have much. It's a terrible feeling.
I see why people put their last little bit of money into something to get them drunk or high, not because they are too lazy to try or are terrible people or because they don't care. It's because they realize they'll spend their whole lives trying for something they'll never obtain, they get high because they do care and it hurts to care and feel helpless and like nothing is going to get better. They do it so they don't feel because they know no matter how hard they try it'll never get any better.
Things aren't like they used to be, college isn't cheap an it'll take you about the same amount of time to pay off as a house.
Jobs that make enough to live on are scarce, require a degree and then you have to battle it out with everyone else with that degree an who are they going to hire? The 24 year old with no experience or the 38 year old with experience and a family to help support?
Now please don't make this about me and my story, I was only giving you my side to give a detailed insight into how I know and feel it is for others and why I think things are the way they are today with my generation.
Why my generation seems to just be floating in limbo.
I do plan on going back to college in the fall and using the last bit of college money I have left, about 3 semesters worth and if things haven't turned around by then (next december) I won't be going back till it does.
I'm not going to put myself into crazy amounts of debt without a guarantee.
What do you think has caused the pattern of behavior in my generation. (I'm 23).
It is not the pattern of behavior for your ENTIRE generation. For you and your group of friends perhaps.
Millennials are actually leading the charge in DIY entrepreneurship.
Just because you have absolutely zero drive and every excuse in the book doesn't mean everyone your age is like you. And you know people like you because water always seeks its own level. Surround yourself with driven people and you will start acting like one. I know I know - "but but... there are no successful young adults in my town blah blah excuse".
What exact guarantee are you looking for? There are no guarantees.
Get up off your arse and start something. You've been singing this college nonsense for five years now. College is only what you make of it.
Start a house cleaning business, repurpose some old furniture, get your real estate license - there's tons of things you could do. But you won't, because there's no GUARANTEE. Pathetic.
Oh, and BTW - you have Google. What I would have done to have Google at 19. I woulda been even more formidable - and I didn't go to college. My professional fee at 23 was 1000 bucks a day. You can learn ANYTHING YOU WANT. Do it. I dare ya.
Sorry OP, but you're a whiner. My kids are your age, and that's not the way they view the world or live their lives.
I know a ton of kids from modest means who are living at home and going to community college. The average PELL grant is around $4K a year, which pretty much covers the cost of tuition and books at CC. That makes it FREE--you don't have to pay a grant back. They're either learning a trade, or getting an associates degree that will transfer to one of our state universities. After they finish the two year AA degree, they move on up to a regular college (still living at home) where tuition and books go up to around $9K a year. They borrow $5K each year on top of their PELL grant, work a part time job for gas money, and they graduate with a Bachelors and around $10K in debt. That's very manageable--it's less than a car payment. Other kids go into the service--either ROTC or a combination of ROTC and the national guard--to pay for school. Others just join the military and go on the GI bill later. Some do the community college route for two years, and then work full time and take night classes to finish up their bachelors. It's not easy, and it's sure not an ideal way to have to get an education, but life isn't easy. None of us can do anything about what "might" happen in the future, but we CAN do something about preparing ourselves to be in the best possible position to deal with challenges down the road, and that includes getting an education. If an education isn't handed to you by mommy and daddy, then you need to get yourself together and figure out a way to do it on your own. All I hear you giving are excuses.
You need to buck up, put on your big boy pants, and take some responsibility for your life.
At 23 (which, by the way, was only 2 years ago), I had graduated debt-free from a top university 1000 miles from home on scholarship, had lived in 3 countries - also on scholarship, was fluent in a 2nd language and functional in 2 more, and was fighting stage IV cancer while working full time and going to grad school. All of this was done 100% on my own - my family have their own financial and medical struggles. I see a lot of excuses in your post.
Do I struggle? Sure. I would be fine financially if I hadn't gotten cancer, but consider myself lucky that I was able to keep a roof over my head and was able to pay most of my bills with a lot of sacrifice. I haven't lived at home for any length of time since I was 18, went through high school with the goal of getting a full scholarship (and did it), and worked my tush off. Now I've been focusing on building tech skills since my goal of going to law school ceased to make sense in 2008.
Life is rough out there. Trust me, I know better than most in our generation. We've been dealt a tough hand with wages stagnating, sky high rents, and the cost of living going up every day. But stop making excuses. There are scholarships out there - ESPECIALLY if you come from a less fortunate background. I make less than 40K in Boston - one of the most expensive areas of the country. It's scary and frustrating, especially staring down lots of medical care. But it's also temporary. As upset as I get about my current situation, I recognize that I'm between a rock and a hard place at work (great benefits and a contingency plan for if I relapse, but low pay and a reluctance to promote me or give me a raise due to budget concerns), but to milk my current situation for all that it's worth. As I apply for other jobs, I'm in a great position for more money because I have dramatically increased the scope of my role, say yes to almost any project, and spend significant amounts of time on my own building skills.
What have you done in the 5 years since high school graduation to dramatically change your situation? Even if you're not in college, there are tons of marketable skills that you can build. Are you volunteering? Are you networking? Edging for management roles in your current workplace? Taking classes on Coursera, Code Academy, etc? In the year I was on chemo alone, I learned 2 programming languages (which, coming from a social science major, is a big deal!). Since then, I've taken several more formal classes in different languages, and am tackling SQL right now in my free time. While some of this was done through free college classes offered by working in a university, for the most part, I learned through free resources online and then practiced those skills either at work or through one of my volunteer endeavors.
The reason most people stagnate is because they themselves stop building their skills. Your 20s are the perfect time to be ambition hungry. Because of the economy, you might not be making 60, 70K out the gate, but you're surely not going to ever reach middle class if you don't work for it. Unfortunately, we have to work a lot harder than our parents to get their same quality of life and get an edge. But if you want it, you do something about it.
The OP is the exact reason this country is in decline and will continue to decline. Simple fact is this person and the generation wants everything handed to them. They don't want to have to work hard to get ahead, why? There is absolutely no reason for them too. They can "get by" just fine in life, without doing anything. This country is now designed for every social enttiltement, freebie program needed. A few under the table jobs and even normal ones and they can sit around, get loaded, drink their butts off and do nothing. THAT is what liberal social policies have gotten us.
How about you take the money you spend on alcohol and drugs and use it for your education and to get ahead in life? But again, why should you do that? You are just content with your lousy life the way it is.
Oh baloney. My kids are this age. They (and their friends) work their backsides off. Stop moaning and groaning--do you sit on the porch and yell at kids to get off of your yard too? I'm a boomer, and the truth is that we're the ones who've messed this country up more than anyone else. We also had a lot more handed to us--back when I was in college, financial aid was pretty easy to get, and if you lived away from your parents for a year, you could qualify on your own income to get all kinds of freebies. Student loans were super low interest, and tuition costs were much lower than they are now, even adjusted for inflation. It's tougher now for kids than it ever was for us. I think most kids are pretty realistic about the fact that they're going to have to hustle to get ahead, and they do.
Pot is most common.
Pills are huge, like hugeeeee, not Vicodin or Percocet either, Roxie's and opanas.
All the people I know drink a lot and get high. A lot of people that I work with get high all the time.
Here's what I think. You and your friends do not represent an entire generation.
There are young people with focus and goals, driven to succeed. Thank goodness.
It may seem odd but you can place the blame on Bill Clinton who sold the USA to commie red china. He sealed that deal with the creation of the EPA. In effect Bill Killed the economy and sold your age group's birth rite out to the ENEMY.
Up to about 4 months ago i was building machines the enemy can't seem to copy. The Enemy loves to cope any patented machines they can steal. I suspect after 6 years of making the same basic 4 machines now, they have finally duplicated some, as i am sure they do not honor any patented rights.
At this point I feel it is safe to say Welcome to the USA, the newest 3rd world country. I hope you enjoy your stay.
I will be 62 in Nov.
On your 'guarantee' there was never one at any time in history. Your generation seems to think there was. No one was handed a living or a who they are. BUT we were allowed to try on our own, unlike sheep these days who demand no one acts alone to better what they are.
You may find older people are more like, Lead, Follow, or just Get Out of the Way. Right now and at no other time in the past of the USA we have more idiots running the Govt than at any time in the past.
That much should be self evident, but oddly it isn't due to Sheep mentality.
My advice would be break the mold and try Liberty for a change. That 0 tolerance sure isn't working out now is it?
It may seem odd to you - but place the blame squarely where it belongs - on yourself if you didn't achieve what you wanted in this life.
What happened to the personal responsibility mantra I hear conservatives singing? I guess that only applies to other people.
Here's what I think. You and your friends do not represent an entire generation.
There are young people with focus and goals, driven to succeed. Thank goodness.
Right. I'm 2 years older and pills are not "like huuuuge". I'm sure some people do them, but that certainly is not something anyone I have ever known to do - at least not openly. There are some pot smokers, including myself, but I tend to put distance between myself and the few people I know who are lazy potheads and it's cheaper than the cost of the handful of pills I'd otherwise need to take. Between my cancer/side effects and my boyfriend's advanced glaucoma, we're a walking medical marijuana commercial!
The people I know don't get high or drink a lot. Sure, there's some drinking and getting stoned, but that's universally after a day of work in a professional job. I wouldn't consider either a problem for the vast majority of people I am around - but I also only surround myself with people who are similarly driven. If the OP is finding herself around a bunch of losers, maybe it's time for a change.
This is why I just put in the bare minimum 40 hours at work and spend the rest of my time on personal pursuits. I live on less than 30k a year and have always been comfortable. I don't really need or want much in terms of widgets.
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