The End Will Be Worth It

We have a nephew graduating from college in May, which sparked an interesting conversation about the experience the different generations have had as they became adults. I then found these words from Sophie Tucker which perfectly fit our conversation:

From birth to eighteen
a girl needs good parents, 
from eighteen to thirty-five
she needs good looks,
from thirty-five to fifty-five
she needs a good personality, 
and from fifty-five on
she needs cash!

- Sophie Tucker 1966

These words make us chuckle, yet it is a wonder to think how young people in these times are going to be able to do what it is we were able to do when we were their age. My first apartment rent was $475 a month. That same space is now well over $1500 a month. The first car I bought was $13k and that vehicle today start around $32k. And so on and so on. Everything is more expensive, yet salaries and compensation have not grown proportionally. And I do not bring this up to start a political or philosophical conversation. I mention it to help us all understand the challenges of living today, and the blessings we had as we became adults way back when.

I liken it to how I worked as I created this piece on paper towels. Why paper towels you may ask? It was a challenge, readily available, and added a great deal of texture to the text. The down side was how delicate the paper towel was, how many pens I had to test to see what would work and what did not work. AND, once I put the glue on the finished piece it began to rip and bleed. Sort of like how young adults must feel now as they get closer and closer to reaching their goal of graduation, only to find that their dreams are flimsy and precarious in many ways due to money….which is made out of the same things as paper towels: pulp and water.

No matter where you are in your life’s journey, hang on as time will give you the gift of change. Change for the better, change for the worse, or change just for change’s sake. Just when you think you have life figure out, something comes along to test and teach you, which makes you wise, courageous and strong. The beautiful days in life happen when we let go of our control and go with the flow, even if that means working on a wet paper towel with text on it…the end will be worth it.