I was checking my Research Practice progress at the start of the week. To my surprise, I noticed I am already halfway along. Just eight weeks till the deadline for my article. It wasn’t the deadline that scared me, but the fact that my life as a student will end after those eight weeks.
Just eight more weeks of being a student before civilian life kicks in. It makes me feel uncertain. I haven’t found a job and have yet to find somewhere to live once Idealis wants me, a former student, to vacate my room. And all my friends will move to other locations in the Netherlands or abroad. My life appears to be coming to a standstill in eight weeks.
I fear the approaching boredom of the daily rut, friends moving away and work stress
Or is this the start of real life? The well-known white picket fence? Making a career and moving up! School’s out, and off we go! I am not convinced. Although I am eager to start working and don’t intend to laze about after September, it still feels like a dark cloud slowly closing in on me, bringing the boredom of the daily rut, friends moving away, and work stress. The normal civilian milestones of buying a house, having children, and getting married are way beyond reach. The average house in the Netherlands costs 418 thousand euros, raising kids is expensive, and people only ever get married in movies.
I sometimes wonder whether this world still works for ‘normal people’. A nine-to-five job no longer seems enough to cover the cost of these milestones. And it isn’t even very normal, when living in a wealthy country such as the Netherlands and attending a university. I don’t mean to complain or come across as pathetic, but the term “unlucky generation” rings true for me, particularly with the dark clouds looming over me. But perhaps it won’t be as dark as I imagine in eight weeks. After all, the world never stops spinning, meaning the sun will emerge again.
Resource-student editor Maurice Schoo (24) is a second-year master’s student of Development & Rural Innovation. He likes to cook, and he paints when he has the time.