Why is it so hard for our kids to just LIVE these days?

[Sympthsical]

21. In all seriousness, I hear you

We've been watching 10 nieces and nephews (4 we're more or less responsible for) navigate their lives. They range from 16-26 at present. The early 20s they're dealing with is so different from what I had to - and I'm only in my 40s.

The launchpad has changed. Yeah, I had student loans, but state schools weren't nearly as soul-crushing as they are right now. $16k a year just for a state university in tuition alone, not counting living and materials which can easily drive that to $25-30k. It's preposterous.

Let us not discuss rents. It's impossible. A nephew and his gf moved out on their own last year - and she is a nurse now - and they were back home after that lease was up. A lease we were helping them with. It was just too expensive to balance work, school, and the cost of living.

The fact of the matter is that we are increasingly sending our young people out into the world with their heads being held underwater. And then we complain they're too lazy to swim. It's insanity. And privileged. And cruel.