Making It

Working in and around education for so many years, and having high school and college age children of my own, I know a lot of people who are 15 - 25 years old.

And I noticed something yesterday.

I stopped by the pet store to pick up some kibble for the cutest Jack Russell Terrier in the world, and I saw a young man who just graduated high school last year. He seemed glad to see me and came to say hi and we exchanged a few words. As I left the store, he was coming back in with a coworker who was pushing a wheelbarrow and we talked a few more minutes.

It was almost the same conversation I have with kids his age all the time. He felt like he had to explain why he was hauling bags of dog food for a living. Almost like he was ashamed to be caught working for a living.

Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe he just wants me to know he is working toward something better, and that’s great, but I wonder if our “have it now” society is programming young people to expect overnight success or something. I might remember it wrong, but when I was his age, it seemed normal to get a job flipping burgers, pouring concrete, sweeping floors, or hauling pet food. I don’t remember my friends and I being ashamed to work at jobs like that.