Skip to main content

A Letter to American Graduates

Liz Shuler
Social share icons

Congratulations, and welcome to the American workforce! Many years of work and school brought you to this new place of early mornings, long hours and way too much coffee. You’re probably a little worried, and that’s okay. Between impressing your boss and working through mountains of student debt, it can be a lot to think about.

Will you have to get a side hustle to make ends meet? Maybe you already have. Or maybe you’re already preparing how to ask for your first day off. Maybe you’ve noticed a leering coworker and catalogued a possible response in case things get worse. But if anything, you probably feel lucky that the paychecks are regular and that $1-wing nights are still a thing.

Yes, things need to change. But your generation has always known that you can’t wait for the change to happen. Instead, you’re sharing petitions on social media, organizing marches, making your voice heard, speaking out. You’re collaborative, civic-minded and the most technologically connected generation ever. That’s what makes you strong.

Read the full letter in Time.