Dear Obama; A letter from your future leaders
Dearest President Obama (and the rest of the government officials sitting in their leather chairs at mahogany desks);
I'm writing you this letter to discuss my immense displeasure at having grown up in this place only to fall down, time and time again.
You see, elected officials, I grew up in a suburban city of Massachusetts, with middle class parents working hard to keep a roof on my siblings and my's heads, and food in our bellies. Christmas only came once a year, as did our birthdays, so you see, there was no room for extra gifts or necessities.
Now, I studied hard. I was the youngest in my entire grade; reading 3rd and fourth grade level books at age 5 in the 1st grade, moving on to do well in school spelling bee's and eventually on to honors and advanced placement courses in high school. I did exceptionally well on my SAT's, and knew the type of field I wanted for my education. Though, after talks of funding and location with my parents, I took a year break between my education, which then turned into three years.
After those three years out in the real world (AKA working odd-end jobs in NYC to pay my bills and save up for an education), I realized I still wanted to pursue my passion; the business of fashion. I paid plenty of application fees, was accepted into a few choice schools, but took the one with the best offering and the greatest financial aid package, seeing as I was almost completely on my own when it came to funding my dreams. Every semester financial aid was a nightmare of paperwork, emails, and unreturned phone calls. Dealing with a now notably incompetent financial aid advisor, I soon had a mix up on my hands that is now costing me $11,000.I've since had to withdraw from the program.
There's my educational history, now moving onto my work history and ethics. I began working odd jobs at 14; filing papers in my dad's office, working as a counselor at a summer camp, the usual teenage positions. At 16 I began working at Toys R Us where I excelled greatly and became a front end supervisor by the time I was 17. Seeing as I had already graduated high school, I transfered to the Toys R Us in the new locale of my life, NYC, which sadly did not hire under 18 year old staff. I quickkly found a few seasonal positions (the aforementioned "odd jobs") as a cashier in a halloween shop, children's ice skating instructor, model, high school tutor...Obviously, I was a well rounded young woman with a plethora of skills that SHOULD have helped me into the real world. I eventually started school, working more retail (childrenswear, couture, ready to wear), as well as balancing my education and 3.2 GPA, and the required internships as buyer's assistant, showroom assistant, and an e-commerce buyer's assistant. I've always been an avid, dedicated worker; covering other's shifts, working overtime, doing whatever I can to get ahead, but somehow it's never enough.
You'd think that, given my generous experience and exceptional work ethic, I could do more with my life.
I've been out of work just about one month now, sent literally over 80 resumes to jobs, and only been offered 3 unpaid internships in return. I'm heavily in debt, and have been supporting myself for years so it's not like I have my parents to fall back on.
I'm stuck in a rut of a catch 22; I can't afford school because I can't get a job, I can't get a job because I haven't completed my degree. I blame this country; the economy, the wealthy people in their park avenue apartments and ostritch leather handbags. I blame over population. But most of all, I have YOU to blame; the government officials who make it legal for the wealthy to be taxed less and the middle class to be taxed more.
I'm unhappy, to the point where I think this country of America may be better without one less determined woman vying for the same jobs as so many others. I know many others are unhappy. Almost all of my friends under 30 are unemployed, and I'm not making that up. I know they're all just as depressed as I, holing ourselves up on our couches with cheap liquor, scouring Craigslist and other job posting sites for hours a day, only to turn up empty inbox'd, and heavy hearted,
Frankly, I just wanted to let you know this is where your country's youth is at; those "leaders" of tomorrow are currently all on the verge of suicidal thoughts that may not take them into those leadership roles. I'd like to see immediate change though I know the impossible grasps of that, but maybe a break for some people? A rent-less month for those unemployed to take one last worry of their plates?
Maybe, take a slight hint from the Europeans and cut down on educational costs, that would be immensely helpful in creating an educated country of leaders.
I'm writing you this letter to discuss my immense displeasure at having grown up in this place only to fall down, time and time again.
You see, elected officials, I grew up in a suburban city of Massachusetts, with middle class parents working hard to keep a roof on my siblings and my's heads, and food in our bellies. Christmas only came once a year, as did our birthdays, so you see, there was no room for extra gifts or necessities.
Now, I studied hard. I was the youngest in my entire grade; reading 3rd and fourth grade level books at age 5 in the 1st grade, moving on to do well in school spelling bee's and eventually on to honors and advanced placement courses in high school. I did exceptionally well on my SAT's, and knew the type of field I wanted for my education. Though, after talks of funding and location with my parents, I took a year break between my education, which then turned into three years.
After those three years out in the real world (AKA working odd-end jobs in NYC to pay my bills and save up for an education), I realized I still wanted to pursue my passion; the business of fashion. I paid plenty of application fees, was accepted into a few choice schools, but took the one with the best offering and the greatest financial aid package, seeing as I was almost completely on my own when it came to funding my dreams. Every semester financial aid was a nightmare of paperwork, emails, and unreturned phone calls. Dealing with a now notably incompetent financial aid advisor, I soon had a mix up on my hands that is now costing me $11,000.I've since had to withdraw from the program.
There's my educational history, now moving onto my work history and ethics. I began working odd jobs at 14; filing papers in my dad's office, working as a counselor at a summer camp, the usual teenage positions. At 16 I began working at Toys R Us where I excelled greatly and became a front end supervisor by the time I was 17. Seeing as I had already graduated high school, I transfered to the Toys R Us in the new locale of my life, NYC, which sadly did not hire under 18 year old staff. I quickkly found a few seasonal positions (the aforementioned "odd jobs") as a cashier in a halloween shop, children's ice skating instructor, model, high school tutor...Obviously, I was a well rounded young woman with a plethora of skills that SHOULD have helped me into the real world. I eventually started school, working more retail (childrenswear, couture, ready to wear), as well as balancing my education and 3.2 GPA, and the required internships as buyer's assistant, showroom assistant, and an e-commerce buyer's assistant. I've always been an avid, dedicated worker; covering other's shifts, working overtime, doing whatever I can to get ahead, but somehow it's never enough.
You'd think that, given my generous experience and exceptional work ethic, I could do more with my life.
I've been out of work just about one month now, sent literally over 80 resumes to jobs, and only been offered 3 unpaid internships in return. I'm heavily in debt, and have been supporting myself for years so it's not like I have my parents to fall back on.
I'm stuck in a rut of a catch 22; I can't afford school because I can't get a job, I can't get a job because I haven't completed my degree. I blame this country; the economy, the wealthy people in their park avenue apartments and ostritch leather handbags. I blame over population. But most of all, I have YOU to blame; the government officials who make it legal for the wealthy to be taxed less and the middle class to be taxed more.
I'm unhappy, to the point where I think this country of America may be better without one less determined woman vying for the same jobs as so many others. I know many others are unhappy. Almost all of my friends under 30 are unemployed, and I'm not making that up. I know they're all just as depressed as I, holing ourselves up on our couches with cheap liquor, scouring Craigslist and other job posting sites for hours a day, only to turn up empty inbox'd, and heavy hearted,
Frankly, I just wanted to let you know this is where your country's youth is at; those "leaders" of tomorrow are currently all on the verge of suicidal thoughts that may not take them into those leadership roles. I'd like to see immediate change though I know the impossible grasps of that, but maybe a break for some people? A rent-less month for those unemployed to take one last worry of their plates?
Maybe, take a slight hint from the Europeans and cut down on educational costs, that would be immensely helpful in creating an educated country of leaders.