The Lost Generation

This was probably one of my hardest weeks ever....Why? Well because I had NOTHING to do. To those of you who work full time this may seem like a good thing, like what's wrong with a little time off, but you know how I HATE downtime....

So I was reading an article on Huffingtonpost the other day about the supposed Lost Generation, kids who graduate from college from 09-12 who literally are faced with the hardest economic times of the present since the great depression. It goes on to give all these stats about how pretty much we'll be the first generation that is not financially better off than our parents...etc...I have to admit, this article gave me a little pause because for the first time in my life I'm an actual Statistic. Usually I pride myself with being different, off, weird, unique, outside the mold, but in this case I am just another number. Just like most kids my age I moved back home with my rents and now I'm just spending this time "saving" or "preparing" to move on with my life. While I am not going through  a quarter life crisis over this or anything, I have to admit it did give me pause....

Well that was just a thought I had. If anything this motivates me to really go out there and do something with myself. I always kinda wanted to just fit in with my career choice, you know choose a safe job and make decent money and then that would lead to me being happy. But I've kinda changed my mind about that. I got a fortune cookie today that told me money and success would not lead to happiness, but rather I would do something I am passionate about (something like that in a roundabout fortune cookie way of saying it). I thought this was perfect for me. For some time now I've been unhappy with certain things around me, and noticed that there are situations young people get themselves in these days that with a little information they could avoid. One example is the whole college dream. We are hardwired to believe that you NEED to get into college to make it in America. It's like they want us to believe that once you have a college degree the red sea parts and everything you've ever dreamed of comes true. So we press hard through high school to make it there, we flood our debt with student loans just to finally graduate only to find out that our degree means nothing. Only to find out that a social science Bachelor's is just a ticket to more school and more debt. Only to find out that people who didn't finish high school are making more money than us...Yeah seems like there's a problem here. Now this situation doesn't apply to everyone. There are many kids out there who's parents were lucky enough to save a college fund, who's family owns some company they can go work for with their degree, who's aunt is a big shot something or another that has connections. Then there are some who for some reason just always seem to have things go there way, who can talk themselves into a better situation. BUT there are those of the bottom middle class who came from lesser homes that fall into this category. What do I want to do? Well I feel like if there was a PROMINENT program out there that explained this process to kids they would PROBABLY work a little harder in college, you know pick a major that had better prospects of jobs after graduation.

They say knowledge is power, well there is no where this is more true than in America. Knowledge really is power, and the key to knowledge is information. A lot of WHO you know rather than WHAT you know BUT WHAT you know that still get you a long way. Another scenario. Some high school athlete just starts playing a sport their junior year. Let's say it's basketball. This kid has some pretty solid talent and most likely can be a starter on a D III or even D II school, and with work and the right timing could make it on a DI team. However, this kid plays for a school that constantly goes 0-15 and while they average some of the higher numbers in their state, no one ever gets to see them play. Their parents spend the junior and senior year waiting for phone calls from college coaches that never come, and eventually this kid doesn't even go to college because they have mediocre grades. In this case, all this kid has to go is MARKET themselves, send some e-mails, make some highlight tapes, and make some phone calls to schools and they probably could get themselves a solid look from a coach or two. Once again, because they lack the information, because of their situation and their parent's lack of knowledge, things don't work out well for this kid.

Immigrating to the US from a lesser country is well, its hard. For one thing, America almost never acknowledges education from other countries, so just imagine losing everything. Well for children, you understand that your parents gave up EVERYTHING in Hopes that you can get a better life so you try your hardest to do well in school. Most foreigners however have a high standard of success, doctors, lawyers, or every know and then a CEO is good enough to make the cut. Thats some kind of pressure to put on yourself. You think that if you don't make it then the sacrifice your parent's made was all for nothing, and you spend all your time thinking you let them down. This was my thinking as a kid growing up. I mean my family and I had some rough times and the thought of this dream life is what kept me going. Believing that once I made it to college I would get anything I wanted, but not really understanding what it would take after I got there to make that happen. I don't blame anyone for my situation, I've made all my choices for myself and my own reasons, but I'm not saying that had I been given some additional information about what my degree meant post grad, I more than likely would have stayed a math major, or at least switched to engineering.

What's my point, well being the optimist that I am I've decided that I no longer want to just be another person. I no longer just want to go to work, make good money, provide for me family and be merry. I want to be a change. I want to use my experiences and my failures to help people (from less fortunate to trust fund) understand the reality of life. I want to help kids excel in school and sports, I want them to understand what different majors mean and what jobs really are available for them out there. I want families to save so their kids don't have to be thousands in debt when they graduate, I want to start something that will have a lasting impact on every child I come across. So I guess this is my new declaration to myself, I am no longer satisfied with just making my life better, I must make the lives of people I meet better as well.

America is a wonderful land bustling with opportunity, the only issue is understanding how to take advantage of all those opportunities out there. I know for me I just didn't really know what was what and who was who and left from right when it came to politics, but with a little help I know other people can have an easier time than I did.

So I may be a member of this Lost Generation, but I will do my best to make sure other's don't suffer the same fate. I have an unrelenting belief that everything will work out for me, this belief keeps me going when times get rough; but I understand that for others they may not have that luxury so I will do my best to make their transition into adulthood a little smoother than mine has been.