Gen Zer In Their First Internship Can't 'Fathom' Working For The Rest Of Their Life — 'I'm Just Supposed To Do This Forever 'Cause I Need Money?'
The expression of an existential crisis is a time-honored part of growing up.
Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels The transition from college to what everyone deems “the real world” can be a truly acute shock — to go from the bubble of campus life to working full-time and paying bills is rarely an easy move to make.
In a now-deleted post to the subreddit r/LateStageCapitalism, one young person expressed their extreme dissatisfaction with what their future held.
A Gen Zer in her first internship can’t ‘fathom’ having to work for the rest of her life.
The short yet not entirely simple answer to her existential question is, well... yes. The Gen Zer’s commentary was reposted on the Twitter account “F–-k You I Quit,” who state in their bio, “The labor market is a mess. Here to show you why. Highlighting workers' conflict with poor management, corporate greed, bad business, and the economy.”
The Gen Zer posed the question, “Any other gen z workers finding it impossible to fathom the rest of our lives like this?” They went on to explain their harrowing experience, stating, “In the midst of my first internship and I cannot believe generation after generation has been doing this bulls–t work and it is fine with it.”
“I sat sobbing at my laptop today trying to write some blog post about federal funding that was assigned to me today, doing the most boring s–-t of all time that drains me of all my energy and has zapped my passion for writing, and I’m just supposed to do this forever with a smile on my face ‘cause I need money?” She continued.
Photo: Elijah O'Donnell / Pexels
“F-–k each and every person who made this system and keeps it upright and acts like they’re happy about it, too,” she went on. “I’m also a full-time waitress at two restaurants and I want to be an artist and a writer but nothing that fills my cup or makes me happy will ever pay the bills.”
The young person vocalized a harsh truth that tends to surface as we grow older and join the workforce: Having a job is often exhausting and unfulfilling.
“I feel so pissed off at the world right now and even though I know not [every day] will feel this bad, I also can’t help but fear it’s going to get worse as I have to pay for more things to survive and this bulls-–t job will be all I can rely on,” she said. “I hate it here.”
There are very valid sentiments and cultural critiques within this Gen Zer’s rant against the pitfalls of living in a late-stage capitalist system. It seems valuable to note that she maintains a certain level of professional privilege for just having access to paid work and an internship, yet that’s not to discount her concerns with the realities of the world. The truth is, she’s not wrong.
Photo: Cowomen / Pexels
Working can be a harrowing endeavor, especially in a country that doesn’t provide basic social services, like access to healthcare, paid parental leave, or childcare. As rent increases at astronomical rates, along with the cost of food, gas, and seemingly every other resource on this planet, basic survival can feel entirely impossible.
In some ways, this woman’s manifesto against our current economic structure is nothing new. Generation after generation of young people has stepped across the threshold of a fluorescently-lit, beige-carpeted office and felt their soul leave their bodies.
Being forced to work solely to afford survival isn’t at all fair, yet, it turns out, most of life is massively unfair.
This member of Gen Z might not find a job she feels passionate about. She might have to make hard choices about how she spends her days. She’ll have to learn to balance her exhaustion with her desire to create art and carve out time to do so.
It will take complete systemic change to shift the overall poor quality of life that Americans, especially, seem to have. In the end, our jobs don’t sustain us. What makes life worth living is found far from how we pay our rent.
We make meaning from the relationships we have, from the love we give and receive. There’s resonance in breathing deeply, in looking up at the sky, and seeing that stars shine, despite it all.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers labor issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.