You Didn’t Fail Because You Don’t Have a Big Life
Maybe the world failed you.
A few weeks ago, an acquaintance from my book publishing days posted a plea on LinkedIn. She’s been looking for work, tirelessly. She sent hundreds of resumes, penned as many cover letters. Worked her network, took more classes — she did all the things, and yet, she can’t make her mortgage payment. Her words cleaved to me because she seemed confounded by what she considered her failure. We are of the same generation and we were reared to believe if we got the fancy education, worked hard enough, handed over a pound of flesh and several pints of blood to employers who can fire as at will, we will prosper.
Though we weren’t taught the systematic (and systemic) inequities that make this fiction fantastic. We weren’t taught that the world is set up to revere billionaires (who, by default, profit from misfortune) and flees from people who aren’t able-bodied, healthy, thin, white, and well-educated. We were handed the biggest lie of all and it’s taken many of us decades to figure that out.
Many of my friends are in their 40s and 50s, and it feels as if they’ve awoken from a great, deep sleep. They take stock and measure of their lives and say, this is it? I work 60–70 hours a week to work through my vacation to spend time away from the people I love to buy things I need…
