This Story Will Hit You Hard If You’re Young, Tired, and Trying to Survive

Koleksi Pribadi: Suasana sore hari di tepi pantai.

I never thought a short story from 1897 would capture how it feels to be in your 20s in today’s world. But The Open Boat by Stephen Crane does exactly that. It’s about four men stranded at sea after a shipwreck, trying to survive in a small lifeboat. On the surface, it’s a survival story. But underneath, it’s a perfect metaphor for how many young people today feel: drifting through life, working hard, but still unsure if it will be enough to reach the shore.

After reading the story, I shared it with a friend, and he said something that stuck with me: “It feels like the ocean is the world, and we’re just trying not to drown.” It made me realize that this story isn’t just about the past, it’s about us. About the emotional exhaustion, the silent grief, the burnout, and the chaos that define our generation.

For many of us, especially in our early 20s, the world feels like that ocean, vast, unpredictable, and completely indifferent to our efforts. We study, work, hustle, and chase dreams. But like the oiler in The Open Boat, the man who works the hardest and still dies, we’re starting to understand that success is not always guaranteed, no matter how hard you try.

We were told to dream big, but now we measure success by how little we’re falling apart. After the pandemic, mental health issues skyrocketed. Some of us lost loved ones. Others lost direction. Many of us are still grieving, but silently, because the world just moved on. In that way, we’re all stuck in our own little lifeboats, rowing against tides we didn’t choose.

The story also reminds us how fragile control is. In the boat, the men make plans. They calculate distance, look for lighthouses, and keep rowing. But none of those things actually control their fate. Isn’t that what adult life feels like? You plan your future, try your best, and still… things fall apart. Inflation hits. A job rejection comes. A loved one gets sick. And you’re reminded, again, that life doesn’t always follow logic.

But here’s where Crane offers something rare: a quiet kind of hope. In the middle of an uncaring world, what saves the men, even temporarily, is each other. Their connection. Their unspoken understanding that they’re in this together. That’s what I believe we need more of today: solidarity among young people, not competition. Compassion instead of comparison. Conversations instead of silence.

We’re not weak because we’re tired. We’re not lost because we question everything. We’re just human. And like the men in The Open Boat, we survive best not alone, but together when we row for each other, even when the world feels like it’s sinking.

The Open Boat may be a story about four men lost at sea, but for me, and for many of my friends, it’s a story about being young in a world that no longer makes sense. A world where effort doesn’t always equal outcome. Where success isn’t always fair. And where, sometimes, just surviving another day feels like an achievement.

But Crane also reminds us: even when nature is indifferent, people don’t have to be. When systems fail, relationships still matter. Kindness still matters. We don’t need to pretend everything is okay. We just need to keep rowing, and make sure no one’s rowing alone.