the missing rung
Adulthood was sold as something that made sense well into my teenage years it was believed that ok id get my first part time graduate high school, go to college work part time and seasonal, get a starter job, maybe live at home for a year to save up and build a social life start dating, move out after several months of saving maybe with roommates maybe a date turns into a partner well. That didn’t happen.
I graduated high school 2 months early as class of 2020. and in my first college semester I had to change my major to be fully online and go back home for 2 weeks in college. In college I studied political science betting on bureaucratic retirement even returning 2 years later in a seemingly sane era summer job and school. I’d graduates, both state and federal government and a lot of nonprofits are seeing a lot of retirements I’ll do that. Nope I graduated in December of 2024. Doge and recession plus a bubble disturbing admin, try fallback its ridiculously unstable and few hours I got fired twice. With the lack of work, that’s an unpredictable income and no ability to launch. So, 2 years later here we are, I do not know. I know you can fail interviews for being a serious applicant. Recession childhood, pandemic at age of enjoyment, and well a combination of vastly overestimated thinking machines and politics at age of employment. The ladder is Missing rungs.
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I know the world is a dumpster fire, and dependence is lasting longer than planned. And if i weren’t lucky enough to have support id be out. I know how much a year of unemployment after a year of underemployment weighs. What does adulthood look like without most of what we typically think of? I am trying to work through that one. While I try and hope for reform in jobs, careers, guardrails on that looming thinking machine that isn’t going away despite wishes from many. Housing, health, schooling, wages, and working conditions.
Where is everyone, wonder where everyone went am I part of a missing age cohort, they can’t have disappeared but for my social world they have. I know no one is stable enough to plan or have bandwidth when home or for workplace pleasantries. I know some found full-time chaos. Other part time that impacts planning ability more thanks to scheduling. Others are scrambling to survive without the ability to earn a living wage at one; others like me are lucky enough to have support because we would be doomed without. What do your 20s look like now? Urh.
What do I do when unemployment has left me drained beyond looking? When I cannot answer the phone for days or am staring at another loss, when social events do not work, what then? I am trying to understand. The missing rungs are hard on the mind.
What to do with and how to fill the missing rungs? Since the ladder between license and first job and the rental and career. Between moving in and social life and dating. I do not know; the rungs are gone.
