I went to primary school in the 90s - 2010. Imagine our shock and dismay when, after being told for 18 years that we could be and do anything we aspired to, if we followed the right steps, that the America we has been promised had already begun to wither away. In fact, it never truly existed.

I have always lived in South Carolina, and middle school curriculum is the only time we learn state history. It STILL insists that the slave trade was just one, and the lesser, of many perfectly reasonable reasons why we started the American Civil War. I remember several kids in my class rebuked the teacher - we all knew that was bs - and you could see her sweating bullets for some reason. We just can't admit it, and I don't know why.

A bachelor's in culinary management cost me $100k. I was promised it would get me into a serious position right off the bat, instead of having to work my way up from the bottom. That was an expensive lie, and most people my age have fallen for it. The depression, anxiety, and occasional suicidal thoughts that come with the fallout are free, though.

Employers are required to provide Healthcare, but they always procure the cheapest package with the highest deductible. They never include vision or dental. They may as well offer nothing at all, but they get to say that they offer benefits.

And there's more, but its all another story. I'm sad, and sick, and tired. And there's nothing I can do but try to be the best version of America that I can be as I trudge forward with everyone else.