The Great Recession of 2008 was a key moment when people started overworking to live in a difficult economic and financial climate. This promoted the idea of “hustle culture,” in that we should glorify hardworking and that it takes a lot of hard work to succeed. As high school students, though, we see hustle culture as a bad quality, in that it can cause burnout and deteriorate mental health. However, as high schoolers, we are working to establish our futures, meaning we need to work hard to achieve good grades, which creates a stable foundation for our future. Some may see hustle culture as grinding academics, but it’s also participating in extracurriculars, managing work, as well as handling social life. To be sure, hustling requires a lot of work, but promoting this type of work during your high school years can decrease laziness. In turn, that work ethic can lead to levels of success that will allow you to do what you love.

When someone says “hustle culture,” most people think of work, work and more work. Millennials on TikTok and other social media apps have promoted hustle culture toward teenagers. Millennials these days are able to make a lot of money online and in various ways, and teenagers who are on the platforms can see this hustle culture. In today’s society, we should see hustle culture as a good thing, as it can divert teenagers away from activities that may be more harmful to them, such as drugs, alcohol, or anything else harmful to their bodies. If I were to tell my parents what I was doing in my free time, I would rather say that I am “hustling” than “playing video games.” This hustle culture, in turn, promotes work habits and develops teenagers who are more capable of disciplining themselves and separating themselves from things that can be detrimental.

Rather than a problem, hustle culture is an opportunity for people, as it’s a person’s choice to decide whether to hustle or not. In my case, hustling and working hard helped me to love the process of learning. As a result, this has helped me with grades in school and it helped my confidence in that I knew I was capable of things I did not think I could do before. So while some say hustle culture is about diverting attention from other pursuits into work. If this work applies to something someone is passionate about, it can turn work into joy.