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I listen to so so so many podcasts. It’s almost nauseating. I’ve literally had to take breaks from the ridiculous number of podcasts I consume on a weekly basis because if I fall behind for a day I’ll be behind for a week.
But there’s this thing that has stuck out to me lately and it’s probably because it’s incredibly relevant to my life right now. Coaches, entrepreneurs even psychic medium’s…They keep bringing it up. As if it doesn’t weigh on my mind already. As if being at home is my first choice.
Like it’s really that easy, people.
Look, even if my mother wasn’t suffering from an eye condition that left her unable to leave the house by herself, there would still be a bunch of other factors that nobody seemingly wants to talk about. Or, I don’t know, even acknowledge exist.
Because I’ve got this running theory that people skip out on the darker more depressing details of their “journey” (can we get a new word, please?). Either due to not wanting to bum people out or knowing they’ll sell a whole hell of a lot more books if they just tell you to go vegan and believe in yourself.
Le sigh.
1. Some of us are not given sh*t growing up.
Here’s a thing I love about privileged people who blog. They love to pretend that having their parent’s old car or a few thousand dollars in their pocket is a reality for a lot of people. As if it’s easy to get even to that point.
When I landed back home less than 2 years ago after almost 6 years away from home, I hardly had $2,000 to my name, no car and not a whole lot of professional work experience to show for the $60,000 college experience I just had.
2. Entry-level jobs aren’t easy to get. Or, turns out, to even live on.
This just really really gets on my nerves.
When you’re starting from practically nowhere with massive anxiety, bad health and no car to get around…finding a job is pretty tough. And when you have significantly less than “3–5 years of professional experience” for an entry-level job, just getting your foot in the door is a blessing.
I’ve pretty much had to scrape. Shitty low-wage jobs to somewhat less-sucky jobs and realizing time and time again that all of this really takes so much more time than anyone gives credit for. Getting on your feet, especially when you’re mid to low-income, is mentally exhausting.
3. Home =/= financial security.
My mom is widowed and she sure as hell wasn’t the breadwinner. I’m actually what helps us get through our food bill every month. All while paying off a car, staying debt-free and getting my ass up to do jobs that everyone literally (and I mean literally) tells me they would hate.
And so I don’t get frustrated because these people are not seeing my nuanced situation.
It’s not cute to make assumptions about people in their mid-20’s still living at home. Many of my friends still are at home years out of college, because it is genuinely difficult to become financially independent. Hell, it’s hard to even know what job you like out of college. There are false starts and wrong turns and blows to your own ego.
Better put: Quit telling us how to live. We’re just doing our best.
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This post was previously published on www.theascent.pub and is republished here with permission from the author.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
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