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For the last 20 years of my life, I always looked forward to the fall and the start of a new school year. This fall is different. I recently turned 24 and am done with school, possibly forever. The bittersweet feeling of summer ending and school starting up again is gone. How am I supposed to spend my time? Shopping for school supplies, picking out my classes, organizing my time and energy... for the first time since I could remember -- I do not have school to look forward to.
As cliché as it is -- adulting is hard. I have now been thrust into the working world. A 40-hour work week replaces a 20-hour school week and a 20-hour part-time job. I now have bills to pay, including rent, utilities, student loans, insurance, etc. The big trade-off is my free time. Before I had minimal chores and my food was mostly provided for me by my family. The ball is in my court now to take care of my residence, cook for myself, go grocery shopping and be responsible for my own well being.
Some might call this column a "complaining piece." While it is not my intention to complain, I believe most who are starting out in the world as adults feel the same as I do. If you do not work in a fast-paced, thriving business sector like technology, manufacturing or private equity, it is almost impossible to get ahead at my age.
A 2025 Goldman Sachs study found 42% of younger working Americans (Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X) have no savings to speak of after covering their basic living expenses. More and more Americans, especially younger ones just starting out, are now living paycheck-to-paycheck.
This would include me. Instead of looking forward to a fun-filled, yet deeply rigorous school year -- I now look forward to just barely getting by.
However, this true story would not be without a glimmer of hope. I often listen to stories of my mother just starting out in the world. She left home at age 17 and idled between apartments while attending several community colleges downstate, before settling into Wayne State University's business night school. She would tell me about living paycheck-to-paycheck in the 90s and how she crawled out of student loan and credit card debt.
Hopefully the apple will not fall too far from the tree, and I can join my mom in living comfortably in the 21st-century. I know I'll get there. I say this because I have a lot going for me and a lot to be grateful for. I'm in generally good health; I have a support system up in Houghton and great career prospects and experience.
Maybe your 20s are about struggling. Then again, what if my experience is a microcosm into what every day Americans who are less fortunate than me experience. If we take a look into the Keweenaw specifically, the 2020 U.S. Census lists the most populous area in the region, Houghton County's poverty rate, at 17.4%.
According to michigan.gov, if you are a single person generating income, if you make below $21,546 you are impoverished. Each additional person (joint or dependent) meets an additional $7,688 threshold. This means out of the 37,361 people in Houghton County (per 2020 Census) there are around 6,500 of those folks living in poverty. This rate is a whole four percentage points higher than the state total (at 13.4%.)
Life has always been a struggle for those who do not have stable income, shaky family situations, chronic mental or physical illness, etc. However, I have a lot to be grateful for, as well as a lot to look forward to in life.
As with many of my columns, my goal is to look at a narrow question and broaden the scope. New adults have their work cut out for them, including myself. Starting out in a new career in a new place was (and still is) terrifying. I had to learn my way around town, meet new people and get a set routine which works for me. While the immediate future will be filled with hardship, the bigger picture is brimming with possibility. Not only for myself, but for my whole generation and those after us.
What I do have to look forward to is simple: cementing myself as a reliable journalist and an upstanding person. Leaving my mark everywhere I go and never looking back.