FALL 2026 WINNER OF THE CROWDER LAW FIRM SCHOLARSHIP

Meghan Potenza

Meghan is a freshman at Illinois College majoring in nursing. In her essay, she writes openly about the rising costs her generation faces and why the American Dream can feel out of reach for young people today. We are confident her compassion and determination will carry her far.

Read Their Essay Here:

The American Dream has always been described as a promise: if you work hard, make good choices, and stay committed, you can build a stable and successful life. But from where my generation stands, that promise feels increasingly out of reach. It is not because young people lack motivation or ambition. It is because the cost of simply starting adult life has accelerated far beyond what most young people can realistically manage.

Every major expense has risen faster than wages. Education, food, housing, and transportation all cost significantly more than they did for previous generations. College alone can cost more than $40,000 per year when you include tuition, room, and board. That number is overwhelming, especially when students are expected to take on massive loans just to access opportunities that used to be considered a normal step toward a stable future. And once those loans are taken out, the pressure does not stop. Young adults are expected to pay them back while also trying to afford rent, transportation, groceries, and basic living expenses in an economy where everything costs more.

Inflation has touched every sector, and there is no clear sign that prices will ever return to what previous generations considered normal. Housing is one of the clearest examples. For many young people, homeownership, a core part of the traditional American Dream, feels almost impossible. Rent continues to rise, and saving for a down payment while juggling student loans and everyday expenses feels unrealistic.

Even the process of choosing a college major has changed. Instead of studying what they love or what inspires them, many students are choosing fields based on whether they might be safe from future job elimination due to artificial intelligence. The fear of losing entire career paths to technology is no longer theoretical. It is something young people actively think about when planning their futures. The idea that hard work alone guarantees stability does not match the reality of an economy where entire industries could be reshaped or replaced.

When you add everything together, paying for college, repaying loans, affording housing, saving for retirement, and covering transportation and basic living costs, it becomes clear why so many young people feel the American Dream slipping away (Myself Included). It is not that they do not believe in the dream itself. It is that the math does not add up.

I have been told by many Gen Xers that my generation has the hardest road ahead, and it is difficult to disagree. We are entering adulthood in a time when the cost of living is higher, the job market is more uncertain, and the expectations placed on young people have not adjusted to match the economic reality. The American Dream still exists as an idea, but for many young people, it feels more like a distant hope than an attainable goal.