A 20-something in Fall 2023 lamented her fate post-college with a Tik Tok post. Her video went viral. In the vid, she shares how her life is difficult because she has to work 9-5. She’s not wrong…mostly. I get where she’s coming from but she misses the big picture, in my opinion. She misses the mark in thinking that life will be easy and that you’ll be able to enjoy the comforts you were accustomed to as a child and young adult without making commitments and sacrifices.
When I graduated college, I knew I was saying goodbye to lengthy winter and summer breaks, limited work hours per day, modest personal expenses and the comforts of non-adulting. I welcomed the life that was to come, and not because I was eager to work 40-60 hours per week for 40 years but because I knew that hard work, sacrifice and doing the right things when no one was looking would give me a different and better life than I had as an extremely middle class kid growing up in Northeast Philly.
I raised my children the same way I was raised; they’re 30 and 29 and are smart, purposeful, well-adjusted, practical, ethical and productive adults. They’re progressing in their careers, saving money, building a life and career that will be earned, not given.
Don’t want to put forth the effort? Then don’t expect life to be easy or fulfilling.
My son had a tough go of it in college and he needed to take time away and re-set his future. He was a cook at a diner for almost 2 years, coming home exhausted and filthy each day. I told him that just being a diner cook won’t lead to him having life he wants unless he owns the diner, learns a trade or graduates college with a meaningful degree. He understood that commitments and sacrifices needed to be made.
With every step I take throughout my home (pictured above), I have a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. I say to myself “I can’t believe where I am in life”. I often pinch myself (figuratively) to remind myself how far I’ve come through hard work and sacrifice and by battling through fears, worries, struggles and concerns. “I built that” I say to myself and I’m proud of it.
The 9-to-5 Tik Tok girl may not understand the rewards of hard work and sacrifice but, with some experience and perspective, she will likely value what they bring to her.
