The life I’ve "earned."

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“This is the life I’ve earned.”
I’m 37. Single. Broke. Living at home. Driving a car I didn’t want. And despite everything I’ve done, this is where I ended up.

I work hard. Always have. My parents drilled that into me. Doesn’t matter if I like the job or not—I give 100%. Every time. No shortcuts. No slacking. Just clock in, show up, do the work. I've done it at retail stores, restaurants, corporate contracts, HR firms, freelance gigs—you name it. And after all that, I’m still making around $17/hour. This… is the life I’ve “earned.”

I’ve got a degree in Business. Minor in HR. I’ve worked in recruiting. I know the tricks. The buzzwords. The algorithms. I’ve read all the blog advice people throw around like gospel. And it doesn’t work. It’s a corporate game where the most “optimized” résumé wins—not the most capable person.

And the worst part? Everyone has something to suggest like I’ve never tried the obvious. “Just network!” Oh, thanks. Never thought of that. 🙄

In college, I didn’t “slack”—I learned how to beat the system. I figured out how to work smarter, not harder. Took notes, studied the patterns, mastered how to learn efficiently. I wrote papers half-drunk and still pulled B’s because I knew exactly what was required. That’s not laziness. That’s adaptability.

I’ve taught myself more skills outside of school than I ever learned in it. I cut my own hair. Fix my own car. Learned video and photo editing. I love learning. But for all of it—the education, the work, the experience—this is the result?

People see the surface and think I haven’t done enough. But truth is, I’ve done everything I was supposed to. The system just never had a place for someone like me.

So yeah. This is the life I’ve “earned.”
Not because I failed—
But because effort means nothing when the system was never built for people like me to win.


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