It’s as simple as knowing there’s comfort in numbers

Chris Cawley, 23

Just moments before his interview, I was introduced to Chris for the first time. He was eager to share with me the success of his most recent endeavor, a blog and Instagram dedicated to his extensive vintage tie collection. Being a recent college graduate, Chris shared many of the same fears as Melanie and me regarding our pending successes. 

What is your current greatest battle?

“When and how I’m going to start making money because I don’t have a job yet. I feel really confused as to what I want to do, and I haven’t been putting myself out there as much as I should because I haven’t been able to apply for real jobs. I don’t have the financial leverage to do what I want and still have money.”

What is your personal interpretation of the 21st-century struggle?

“My struggle as a wannabe artist is that you have to have money to be an artist. I would love to be in a creative environment, but I live at home. I can’t go anywhere. I feel like I’m not doing anything, and that all my friends really are.”

What are your dreams for yourself? For the person you already are and the person you want to become?

“I hope I can still play music in the future, maybe even make money doing it. I would love to paint more than I do now. I just wish I could live a life that is (I hate to keep bringing money back into it) but I just wish I could make money doing the things that I love.”

What things bring you happiness and how have you found them?

“Anything involving me creating something beautiful. Whether it be a picture I draw, the way I dress, what I hang on my wall at home or the music I make. I just love making beautiful things. And I think I always enjoyed dressing myself well, I think that eventually carried over into other facets.”

What advice do you have for everyone seeking to answer the same questions as you?

“Honestly, I think it’s as simple as knowing there’s comfort in numbers and there are millions of other recent college graduates who are unemployed and just as lost.”