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I Graduated in the Pandemic and the Future Seems Hopeless.

The problems are real, but the pessimism doesn’t have to be.

David Valdes
5 min readAug 16, 2021
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels

Dear Other Dad,

I am a 2021 College graduate, still paying off my college debt, and unable to find employment, other than gigs without health insurance amidst this pandemic. I don’t see a future for myself nor for my peers. What if nothing changes? How can I still choose joy?

Adrift

It must be hard wrestling with so much uncertainty and worry, Adrift, which is the opposite of the hopefulness and excitement that one associates with graduation from college. The pandemic has thrown your class and the class of 2020 into the same constrained job pool, a context that makes the lack of benefits-ready work feel even more scary. You have every right to feel blue.

While your present anxiety is understandable, a pessimistic long-range view is pointless. How does it benefit you to decide now that nothing will be good later?

The actor Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkison’s at age 29, sums up the way one’s mindset can affect outcomes…

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David Valdes
David Valdes

Written by David Valdes

David Valdes is a Cuban-American author who writes about family, race, and LGBTQ issues. His book Brighter than the Moon releases in January 2023.

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