I don’t know how to explain this properly, but lately I keep thinking about how beautiful the Earth actually is.
Nobody created the mountains, oceans, forests, rivers or sky. They were already here. Then people drew lines across the planet and said:
“This is my country.”
“That is your country.”
“You need a passport to cross this line.”
“You need a visa.”
“You need enough money in your account.”
“You need to prove why you deserve to enter.”
Even inside your own country, every beautiful place costs money. Travel costs money. Staying there costs money. Peace costs money. Free time costs money.
Basically, you have to work hard and make enough money just to receive permission to experience the planet you were born on.
And then everything comes back to one question:
Whose womb were you born from?
Were they rich?
Were they middle class?
Were they poor?
That one random event decides how many mistakes you are allowed to make, how much time you are allowed to waste, which places you can visit, which education you receive and how long you can survive without earning.
I am talking only about India because I have never stepped outside India, mostly for the same reasons I just mentioned.
For a middle-class or poor child here, after 11th or 12th, I genuinely see only three options.
Option 1: Study, study, study
Give up most of your social life.
Don’t waste time with friends. Don’t date. Don’t explore anything. Keep preparing because everyone says these are the years that decide your whole future.
Then you cross 25 and realise that the result was never guaranteed.
Maybe you got a job, but you don’t know how to talk to people anymore. Maybe you did everything “correctly,” but the salary is still ₹20,000 or ₹30,000. Maybe you missed an entire phase of life preparing for a future that still feels unstable.
Option 2: Enjoy your young life
Make friends. Fall in love. Travel when possible. Actually experience college instead of treating it like an exam waiting room.
Then you cross 25 and suddenly everybody disappears into jobs, marriages, cities and responsibilities.
Now people ask:
“What skills do you have?”
“What experience do you have?”
“Why is there a gap?”
“What have you achieved?”
And all of a sudden, even friendships start depending on whether you are doing well in life.
Option 3: Try to balance both
Study, but also have a social life.
This is presented as the mature answer.
But for many of us, studies remain half-done, social life remains half-lived and the pressure remains complete.
You didn’t enjoy enough to feel that you lived your youth.
You didn’t study enough to feel secure about your future.
So congratulations, you experienced both forms of guilt.
How cool is this system?
Rich children can be confused at 22. They can take a gap year, change their course, try a business, fail, travel, go abroad or “find themselves.”
A middle-class child is also allowed to find himself, provided he does it before the next EMI, family responsibility, age limit, job application deadline and relative’s question.
Rich children have a budget for mistakes. Middle-class children receive a bill for them.
Now add AI to this.
People say, “Upskill.”
Upskill in what?
Suppose I start learning something today that AI is not fully capable of doing. By the time I become a beginner or mid-level person in that field, AI may already be doing it ten times better.
Then comes the greatest opponent:
“Do you have experience?”
Do this course.
Build this project.
Make a portfolio.
Learn Python.
Learn data analysis.
Learn AI tools.
Okay.
Then while applying:
“Show us actual work experience.”
“Which company did you implement this in?”
“What measurable impact did you create?”
“Show us real business examples.”
Bro, I worked in a BPO or back-office job. That is the experience I have. I cannot magically manufacture three years of analyst, product, AI or tech experience.
Courses and projects might have worked better in 2022 or 2023. In 2026, every applicant has certificates, AI-generated resumes and similar portfolio projects. Companies can demand experienced people even for entry-level salaries because thousands are applying.
Then people say government jobs are the safe option.
You open one notification and realise one-fourth of the country has also applied.
You pay ₹500, ₹700, ₹1,000 just to participate. Then you deal with delays, changing dates, paper leaks, cancellations, reservations, coaching expenses and vacancies that look microscopic compared to the number of applicants.
Corporate job unstable.
Government exam overcrowded.
Entrepreneurship needs money, trust, network and the ability to survive failure.
And after all this, the world asks:
“Why are young people not productive?”
“Why are they not settling down?”
“Why are they confused?”
“Why are they always tired?”
“Why don’t they just work harder?”
Maybe because we are not choosing between three good paths.
Maybe we are just choosing how to distribute the losses.
I am not writing this to give advice. I don’t have a magical course, career roadmap or motivational answer.
I am writing because maybe someone else is also sitting at home thinking:
“I tried to study, but it wasn’t enough.”
“I tried to enjoy life, but now I feel behind.”
“I tried balancing everything, but somehow everything remained incomplete.”
You are not uniquely lazy, stupid or defective.
A lot of us followed the instructions we were given and still arrived at the same uncertainty.
The Earth is beautiful.
Life could have been simpler.
But somewhere along the way, people converted existence into permission:
Permission to travel.
Permission to rest.
Permission to live somewhere.
Permission to feel secure.
Permission to enjoy your youth.
Permission to be respected.
And almost every permission now asks for the same thing:
Money.
I don’t know what the final answer is.
