Everyone wonders why Gen Z’s struggle with mental health gets worse every year.

Well, here’s the truth that no one will tell you. The second you leave school this is what lies ahead….

But FIRST

If you are new, welcome to OCE’s weekly newsletter curated for the ambitious youth…here are some articles you missed from previous weeks:

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How to get people to ACTUALLY respond

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All Your Questions Answered

On average you get a white-collar desk job. You get up at 7am to make the 8am train to commute. It will be a long 8-10 hours workday. You’ll finish and be tired and stressed. You’ll just want to watch mindless TV to numb yourself. But you must make it home first, so you squeeze into the overpacked train that takes you back.

Finally, you get home, you eat your instant noodles by yourself, because you are too tired to cook a proper meal. By 9PM you’ll crawl into bed and mentally prepare yourself for another day of the same monotony, while secretly wondering if this will be the rest of your entire existence. THIS is what they don’t tell you about jobs.

Here’s the truth: They won’t crush you with their difficulty. They will crush you with their banality and tortuous meaninglessness. You don’t get the right to earn a lot to start, but even worse you don’t get the right to challenging problems. You tell yourself that you just need to tough it out and prove that you are worthy, you will eventually get to do things you love while making more money.

So you dedicate yourself by going above and beyond, but instead of a promotion and a raise, you only end up getting more responsibility for the same o'l grind. You got to wait for your turn, they say. There is no other way.

You start looking for a way out by getting back into the interview market. You claw your way through the final round and the hiring manager asks if you have any question for them.

“Are you happy?” you ask.

The utterly shock on their face is undeniable. Too terrified to admit it, because they are still stuck in the cycle. Unwilling to look your disappointment in the eye to tell you the truth. But you don’t need their answer because you can see it on their face.

“Purposeless-ness”, THAT is what I realized.

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PS. This summer, we are going to tackle pressing global issues and drive innovation in regions (such as your own community) where it is needed the most. Want in?

We run a summer cohort for ambitious youth (high school and undergrads) to work directly with world-class founders while learning from Silicon Valley leaders.

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You can also explore purposeful opportunities through our Impact Internship Opportunities Database.

Get Curious.

Lena

https://www.openclassroomexperience.com/