In February 2025, I started working full-time — a proper standard 9–5 — and it honestly hit me way harder than I expected. Like most final-year uni students, the priority was just getting an offer in a bad market. After months of interviews, I finally landed something… and then reality set in: the pay was lower than I thought, and even doing everything “by the book” didn’t magically translate into getting ahead, especially with Australia’s housing situation and the general cost of living. So I did what felt like the only reasonable move at the time: two jobs, seven days. I had this idea that if I just worked harder, I’d build borrowing capacity, buy an apartment, have “fun money,” and feel like my life was moving somewhere. Instead, I started resenting tomorrow, budgeting what would happen if I quit, and realizing I’d basically break even — no savings, no nothing — but I’d get my time back and maybe even make videos again. When my second job started changing and my team got offshored, it was obvious what was coming. I resigned, and after almost a year of grinding, I finally experienced what a normal 9–5 actually feels like. It wasn’t perfect — being stagnant financially is still uncomfortable — but I slept better, felt calmer, and weirdly, it was nice to have a more interesting answer to “How was your week?”