The Dream We Keep Being Sold
You’re told from the day you can walk that if you work hard, keep your head down and do the right thing, you’ll be alright. Really?Because from where I’m standing, growing up feels less like climbing a ladder and more like trying to sprint up an escalator that’s going the wrong way.
I’m fourteen. I’m not pretending I’ve got forty years of life experience because I haven’t. However, I can read. I can listen. I can look around me. More importantly, I can see what ordinary people are dealing with.
And honestly?
Growing up doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence.
Everyone bangs on about “the future.”
Go to school.
Get qualifications.
Get a job.
Move out.
Buy a house.
Start a family.
Sounds brilliant.
Now tell me how.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Have you looked at house prices recently? Have you seen what people are paying just to rent a flat? Meanwhile, some folk are working full time and still wondering whether they can afford to put the heating on without checking the bank balance first.
That’s not a future.
That’s survival with better branding.
Then you’ve got the advice brigade.
“Stop buying coffee.”
“Cancel Netflix.”
“Budget better.”
Aye, because the reason someone can’t afford a home is obviously that they bought a meal deal on a Friday.
Give me peace.
Young People Aren’t Blind
People my age aren’t stupid. We can see what’s happening. We hear adults talking about bills. Watch parents working overtime. On top of that, we hear people worrying about rent, mortgages, petrol and food.
You don’t need to be an economist to notice when people are stressed.
What frustrates me most isn’t that life’s difficult.
After all, life has always been difficult.
Instead, it’s when people pretend it isn’t.
Every generation has had its own struggles, and I’d never disrespect that. My grandparents lived through things I’ll hopefully never experience. However, pretending today’s problems don’t exist doesn’t help anyone either.
Should It Really Be This Hard?
Growing up shouldn’t feel like winning the lottery.
Growing up shouldn’t be considered lucky to rent a decent flat.
Nor should it feel impossible to imagine owning a home in the city you love.
Maybe I’m wrong.
Maybe by the time I’m old enough to move out, everything will be easier.
I genuinely hope so.
I’d love nothing more than to look back at this article in ten years and laugh at how pessimistic I was.
Yet right now, that’s not what I see.
I see people working hard and still struggling.
I see young people wondering if they’ll ever afford the lives they were told to aim for.
At the same time, I see politicians of every stripe promising change while plenty of people feel as though nothing changes fast enough to make a difference in their daily lives.
More Than a Headline
Here’s the thing that really gets me.
We’re constantly told that young people are the future.
Brilliant.
Then treat us like it.
Build places we can actually afford to live.
Create opportunities worth believing in.
Most importantly, stop talking about our generation as if we’re just another headline or campaign slogan.
We’re the ones who’ll inherit whatever comes next.
Hope Doesn’t Come From Politicians
Despite everything I’ve said, I’m still hopeful.
Not because I think someone else is going to ride in and fix it.
Instead, it’s because ordinary people always have.
Families.
Neighbours.
Friends.
Communities.
Bands starting in garages.
People building businesses from scratch.
Writers making their own websites instead of waiting for permission.
That’s where real change usually starts.
Not in a slogan.
Or a press conference.
Or in a carefully rehearsed speech.
Rather, it starts when ordinary people decide they’re tired of accepting that “this is just how things are.”
Maybe that’s naïve.
Or maybe refusing to accept the status quo is exactly how every worthwhile change has ever begun.
Either way, I’m not interested in sitting quietly and pretending everything’s fine.
Because from where I’m standing…
Growing up shouldn’t cost this much.
Build Something Worth Leaving Behind
Here’s the part nobody talks about.
It is easy to become bitter.
In fact, the world almost encourages it.
Open your phone and you’ll find thousands of people telling you everything is broken. As a result, every problem becomes another excuse to do nothing, while every bad headline becomes proof that trying is pointless.
I don’t buy that.
If the world’s in a mess, then sitting behind a screen complaining about it all day isn’t exactly going to fix it.
Instead, build something.
Write something.
Start a band.
Open a business.
Learn a trade.
Create a website.
Make art that actually means something.
Above all, leave the place better than you found it.
Punk was never just about shouting that the system was broken.
Anyone can shout.
Instead, the difficult part is picking up the pieces and building something better with your own hands.
That’s rebellion.
Every generation inherits problems it didn’t create, and my generation is no different.
Maybe we won’t solve every one of them.
Perhaps we won’t own houses as quickly as our parents did.
Life may stay expensive.
Or maybe it won’t.
What Will You Do About It?
Either way, refusing to build anything because the future looks uncertain is exactly how nothing ever changes.
After all, history doesn’t remember the people who complained the loudest.
Instead, it remembers the people who created something that outlasted them.
That’s the challenge.
Not to wait for permission.
Not to wait for someone else to sort it out.
Most importantly, don’t spend your life hoping the next politician has all the answers.
Become someone worth listening to because you’ve actually built something.
That matters far more than any slogan ever could.
Like my essays? Read some others here.
