What's it like?

What's it like to be an almost 25 year old female who is going nowhere fast in life?

Well, to be honest, it's quite exhausting. I have the constant fear that I am being judged because I work in a dead end job in a restaurant, and I live at home with my parents, and I have a college degree that I don't use.

After degree number 1 failed to get me to where I was going, I decided to jump ship and go another route. "Let's trying this again," type of deal. The first was just a practice run, as I like to tell people. Hopefully, this second one will put me on the path that I want to go: working with children.

My job is about as worthless as they come. It's a place to make little money fast. No, not decent money, but little money. People think servers make so much money, maybe in other places, but not where I work. I make roughly $1.50 per person that I wait on. "WOW!," you think. WRONG. I wait on anywhere from 30 people to 70 people in a day, depending on the day, and some days I only end up making $1.25 per person. That means I would literally have to work from open to close to be able to afford anything. And my paycheck? Well that is a joke in itself. I made $2.83 and hour. That just goes towards taxes. The other times I work, I only make $8 an hour, and I have been at that job for 5 years; who needs a raise anyway?

I think it is more frustrating to have people ask if I still live at home as opposed to being asked if I am single. Hell yeah I am single. Ask me again, I'll give you the same answer. But ask me if I live at home, and my answer will sound defeated.

But is that fair? Eh, maybe, maybe not. Today's society is so expensive and people are making less money than they did back then. It's a breath of fresh air when someone tells you that they understand that it is expensive to be young. Yeah it's expensive to be young. My tuition for next semester is $250, and then my books are $120. That's just $370 I need to make in a few weeks, where I am only making $60 a night when I work. That doesn't include anything else I may need money for. Like food, gas, insurance, my phone, or whatever else be the case. It is sad when I have to think, "is this purchase worth the stress I am about to cause myself?" Usually I just spend the money anyway and then fret how I am going to make it up later.

I shouldn't have to worry about money and the stress of it all at only 25 years old. It's not fair, and it's not right. I shouldn't feel bad about living at home when I am trying to better my life and better my future--by going to school.

So the next time someone asks me if I still live at home, I am going to ask them if they are still breathing. And when they tell me yes, I will just stare at them blankly. Why? Because I can and you're stupid for even asking me that question. :')