Blessed are you,
when you forgo adding avocado for an extra $2 at brunch,
for you will receive the prospect of home ownership with your bold savings.
Blessed are you,
when you contribute your leftover pennies to your 401K,
for social security will be a bygone fantasy along with pensions
when you reach retirement age.
Blessed are you,
when you start your “side hustle”
for your main job at a company with a multibillionaire CEO
won’t pay you a living wage.
Blessed are you,
when you recycle and vote,
for you have been tasked with undoing
the effects of your ancestors’ ignorance.
Blessed are you,
when you post opinions on social media,
for otherwise, you might actually feel the full weight
of your anonymity and powerlessness
in the face of crumbling systems.
Blessed are you
when you nod and smile as others scoff at your generation,
for you wouldn’t be able to change their minds
that times actually are different now anyway.
But woe to you for having an opinion,
for you will be told you’ll know better when you’re older.
But woe to you for suggesting a wage increase,
for you will be labeled entitled.
But woe to you for valuing people (and even yourself) over profits,
for you will be told you are lazy.
But woe to you when you ask for feedback at work,
for you will be told you’re asking to be coddled.
But woe to you for thinking people deserve equal opportunity,
for you will be told that participation trophies ruined you.
But woe to you for focusing on your education and career,
for you will be told that your biological clock is ticking.
But woe to you for choosing to care about mental health,
for you will be called “emotional” or your manhood will be in question.
But woe to you for pointing out that America has flaws,
for you will be shamed by those who paid for you to study abroad.
But woe to you for questioning tradition,
for you are expected to accept “this is just the way we’ve always done it.”
And woe to you for thinking you can change the world,
for your idealism is too damning of others’ apathy.
