After college: perceptions vs. reality

For college graduates, once the parties are done, family members have flown home and the glow of the festivities has faded, only the sobering realization of adulthood is left.
The harsh reality that you actually have to be independent, act responsibly and go to bed at a reasonable hour comes all too fast.
But this is nothing new. Eventually every animal grows up and has to battle the elements on its own, carving a new path through history. Some do it after a number of hours, some after years.
We’re on the long end of the spectrum, but human brains have a lot of developing to do to flush out our individual strengths and
character.
Eventually, we all leave the nest.
Still, it seems a lot of people are worried about this fresh batch of young adults.
With the economy still recovering, technology increasing and the job market shifting, people are questioning what the future will look like for the new generation of American employees.
Eighty-two percent of Americans say they believe this generation is having a tougher time getting jobs than the previous one.
Seventy-five percent say saving for the future is tougher, and 71 percent believe paying for college is more
difficult.
It also appears that young adults are growing up in new ways. Forty-nine percent of 18 to 34-year-olds have taken a job just to get by.
Twenty-four percent have started unpaid internships to broaden their horizons.
Young adults are starting life later. More kids are going to college than ever before, which slows entering the workforce, but other shifts are happening as well.
Thirty-one percent of young adults have postponed getting married or having a baby. The median age of marriage has increased.
Home ownership rates have fallen in the past decade from 43 to 36 percent among young adults.
The overall message is pointed in one direction: young adults believe they are facing an uncertain future, and they are shifting attitudes based on this assumption.
Are we truly having a tougher time? The economic boom of the ’90s is gone, but are we that much worse off?
The economy is not as strong, but it is recovering. We have new opportunities that the older generations could never have imagined.
Is it all in our heads?
It also seems this generation sees the future as malleable but is not afraid.
Only 9 percent said they believe they won’t make enough money to live their lives fully.
Their optimism remains high, even in the face of these changes.
What is the relationship between our perceptions and our future? How much of an influence do we have on our own destinies?
Chances are what we believe seeps into our actions and partially determines our fate.
If we believe we will be crushed by the future, we prepare for the worst and let it happen.
If we remain optimistic, we take opportunities and prosper from them.
But how much of the future is in our control? We can’t be sure, and if we are too optimistic, it could hurt us.
This generation is facing different problems. We are growing up more slowly, taking our time getting ready for the cruel world that lies ahead.
This could limit us, reduce our belief in our own independence and strength, reduce us to adult children who shirk responsibility and live in denial.
But it could also make us wise, prudent, ready to tackle a world of ever-increasing complexity.
Either way, our perceptions matter, and if we want to succeed at being adults, we need to take them seriously.

­sckroll@indiana.edu