I don’t mean to sound like a bitter Gen Z but…

I know it seems like all my generation does is whine and moan but I really do think we’re justified in doing so.

I made a post a while ago called “Get a job!” or something on the lines of that, and I talked about how it really wasn’t that easy post-Covid because businesses were still suffering and couldn’t afford to hire people they couldn’t rely on to keep, such as students. This is still very much the case. While I did have a summer job for a while and got nearly a grand from that, and have landed a few interviews here and there, I have still been unsuccessful because of my availability as a student (ironically living in a student city). I’m only in a total of 2 and a half days a week and can work late on most nights, and have offered my weekends, but none of that is acceptable for these companies.

I know oldies don’t like to talk about money but I don’t care- I have £200 in my bank account. The money I made at my last job? Gone, to my large termly rent of 3k. It’s so much because I decided to stay at this place for personal reasons over the summer (I do not get along with my family). It’s good I don’t have bills to worry about but I do have something else to worry about: where am I going to live after July? My partner and I tried to get a flat from May-July, and were constantly denied because I wasn’t employed and they didn’t want an unreliable student living there. With my student loan I could’ve afforded rent, especially split with my working partner, but of course they went with other applicants because they had a job.

See, I fully plan on getting a Masters but the student maintenance loan is considerably less because the government expects you to be able to provide for yourself at that point. Understandable, yes, but I’ve been trying non-stop for three years to get a job in Plymouth and I’ve failed so far. The money I do have is my grocery allowance my father so kindly sends me each month, but it can’t go for much else. Always worrying I’ve spent too much on groceries, and worried about having to go back to a toxic household where I’ll mentally regress to a troubled 14 year old while wondering if my sister in law who hates me is going to poison my coffee. I am scared for my own future because I’ve been trying my hardest for years to get on my feet, and have failed each attempt. And I will complain about that.

I will also proceed to forever complain about our snobbish, money-grabbing government who just care about staying rich. They all get their little share in the Big Companies raping our energy bills so why do they care if costs go up? Answer is, they don’t. Scandal after scandal, ethics issues after ethics issues- as long as the rich have an opportunity to stay rich they will do and say whatever it takes to remain in power. The other people to blame are the wealthy older generation who also couldn’t give a single care about those struggling: “Just delete Netflix and stop having Starbucks!” I can’t afford either.

This generation is far from lazy. I’ve met some of the most promising, intelligent and hard working people in this generation. And yet, how come some are couch hopping? How come some are still, by definition, poor when they work 40 hours a week ? How come they’re all worried about the same things I am?

I don’t mean to sound like a bitter Gen-Z…. well, actually, I do.