I am deeply frustrated because my generation did not break this economy but every day, I see my peers working themselves to death trying to do everything possible to compensate. We’re told that it’s harder to find jobs in this economy so just-accept-this-unpaid-internship-and-move-back-home-with-mom-and-dad. We’re told that we’re ungrateful and lazy and unrealistic, but how can the older generation accuse us of these things when they tucked us into bed at night, telling us that we can be anything we want to be when we grow up?

I used to dream so big, but now I worry more than I dream. I tell myself that education will change everything, but I see so many 20-somethings who are overeducated and underpaid.

My eyes glaze over when adults lecture me about my unrealistic expectations and my “petty” dreams. The way I see it, I did not ruin this economy. I am not to blame for this economy. And I, like so many of my peers, am just trying to hold onto those childhood dreams and hopes. When did “you can be anything you want to be” become “you are not good enough”?