By now, most students, as soon as they graduate from high school, decide to enroll in college to pursue their passions, but more importantly to secure a better future. But what happens when the cost of living is so high and disproportionate…?
The number of freshmen and freshwomen dropped by 3 percent and out-of-state students decreased from 500,000 to 400,000 with a loss of 100,000, compared to 2018. Rents in big cities reach figures like € 800-900 for a sad 15-square-meter apartment, if you are lucky… Now there are also gas and electricity bills that have come exorbitant prices. Not to mention grocery shopping at the supermarket, where any food item has gone up because of the high cost of living. Well, then to keep up with all these expenses it’s necessary to get a job. Right! But did you know that Italy is the only country in Europe where wages have declined in the last 30 years?
After all this background, what future can a young person imagine?
When we say that Italy is a country for old people, this is exactly what we are referring to. Young people have been deprived of the opportunity to dream. Pursuing one’s goals has become a real challenge that few have the courage or the chance to face.
Who knows why we all flee abroad…? Perhaps because we are tired of living in a country that is wonderful but takes away the desire to dream. And how does a person live if she/he cannot dream? She/he lives unhappy. But who wants to live unhappy?
Stories of parents who are forced to give up a good part of their salary every month to make their sons study. Stories of teen agers who had to give up their dream university because costs are too much, between tuition, rent and expenses. Stories of young people who, in order to pursue their goals, are forced to share a paltry room between three people with mattresses on the floor because the rent is unaffordable.
College should be a choice, not an option that few can afford.
