As a retiree, I’ve come to cherish slow mornings — especially the ritual of sitting at a café with a good cappuccino, quietly observing the world as it rushes by.

That day, like many others, I wasn’t eavesdropping… but I couldn’t help overhearing two young gentlemen talking at the table beside mine.

They looked like fresh graduates — one of them still wearing a university jacket.

I overheard him sigh, half-laughing, half-defeated:

"I think I’ve done everything right. GPA’s good. Application and resume designed by AI. Still nothing.”

His friend didn’t reply. Just nodded slowly while sipping his iced tea. Eyes down. Listening.

I could see it in both their faces — that early exhaustion, the kind that shouldn’t belong to people just starting out.

What the Numbers Don’t Say

When we read headlines about youth unemployment, we see statistics. But behind every percentage is a person.

A daughter who feels like a burden. A son who doesn’t want to ask for more. A young adult who worked hard for a degree, only to return home feeling invisible.

We don’t talk about what this does to the spirit.

We forget that before someone builds a career, they are building something quieter — a sense of self-worth.

And without meaningful work, that foundation can begin to crack.

To the Youth Still Waiting

If you are one of them — still waiting, still trying, still hoping — this is not your fault.

You are not “late.” You are not “not enough.” You are not a statistic.

You are part of a generation being asked to be patient in a world that moves too fast.

But please — don’t let this world convince you, that your worth depends on your wage, that your voice needs a title, that your contribution starts only when someone else says, “you’re hired.”