@sanibel.ink: High-achieving millennials were promised a lot — be anything, change the world — and then funneled into tech, finance, consulting. Somewhere along the way, the dream downsized. “I like this little life” became a mantra, part comfort, part coping mechanism. Aesthetic meals, boutique workouts, well-lit matcha — not bad, but not enough. They’re the perks of a system that withholds the bigger things: property, stability, meaning. We’ve turned consumption into fulfillment because it’s what’s left to grab. We film flower fields, coffee shops, trips abroad, convincing ourselves a beautiful montage means a beautiful life. And sometimes it works — briefly. But the hollowness creeps back in. Because looking like you’re living isn’t the same as actually living. I think about this a lot because my first novel, To Have and Have More, is about kids who are told from birth that they’re exceptional, destined for brilliance. They’re given every advantage, every ounce of confidence — and yet they’re being set up for disappointment, too. Their privilege doesn’t spare them the quiet panic of realizing the world doesn’t know what to do with them. The paperback just came out, with bonus essays about class, ambition, and privilege — the messy, funny, painful ways we chase big lives and settle for little ones. If you’ve ever felt the gap between what you were promised and what you got, I think you’ll see yourself in it. Summary written by a llm.

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Monday 01 September 2025 17:34:34 GMT