Interviews with Emerging Adults at the Lawrence Branch of MCLS
Emerging adulthood is the developmental stage between adolescence and adulthood, when 18- to 29-year-olds go through critical periods of self-identity, romantic/platonic exchanges, career path choices, and the possibilities of prospective opportunities. This stage is arguably one of the most exciting, impactful, and experimental times in one’s life. Conversely, it can also be one of the most mentally challenging due to socioeconomic pressures which include, but are not limited to, familial conflict, educational status, financial instability, and demographic/social stigma.
Throughout July 2026, I interviewed seven Mercer County Library System staff members who currently fit the emerging adulthood age bracket. The interviews allowed me to collect unfiltered and deeply authentic responses from my colleagues, who each have transparent and objective points of view on real-world challenges that many have navigated at different times in their lives. Without further ado, let us jump right into introducing who was interviewed, when they started at MCLS, and their current roles.
NS (22): “I started as a student shelver in 2022 and became a [part-time] staff member in February 2026 [in the circulation department].”
MD (22): “I became a staff member in the summer of 2022 as a student intern and moved into my present role as a student shelver in the summer of 2023.”
NB (22): “I started working at [MCLS] in September 2021 as a shelver until March 2024, then I started working part-time [in the circulation department].”
AM, cleverly describing their age as “closer to 29 than 18”: “I started at [MCLS] in January 2025, as a technology instructor within the IT department. In January 2026, I transitioned to my current role as a social worker.”
ST (27): “I have been working at MCLS for a few months as a tech instructor.”
JL (28): “I started working at [MCLS] in March of 2022 [as a reference department assistant].”
ED (28): “I became a staff member in April 2022, starting as a part-time library assistant, then worked my way up to my current role as a principal library assistant.”
Following the introductory questions, I dug a little deeper into what challenges some of my interviewees may have faced since joining the MCLS team - whether that be personal, developmental, academic, or career based:
NS: “As a college student, I find that working during the semester has proven to be a challenge, increasingly so as a pre-service teacher… which means I’m in the classroom [a few times] a week [on top of working].”
MD: “When I first started working at MCLS I had trouble speaking about my learning disabilities and how it affected me during work hours. I wasn’t the best at [reading] numbered barcodes [on library items] and things of that nature… and I struggled with asking for help which would be confusing for my coworkers and I. Luckily, everyone [at MCLS] is very understanding of me and willing to accommodate me in any way that I may need.”
NB: “As a nursing student, there are a lot of nursing student related events that are held at my college [all year round]... I could’ve been an officer for a student nurse association, but the meeting times overlapped with my work schedule. Missing out on [social and college] events is also a big challenge that I have faced. I get really bad FOMO… and feel left out if I wasn’t [at an event]. Then, this leads to my friends and I becoming more distant.”
ST: “I’ve only been working at [MCLS] for a few months and I’m just [finally] getting around to setting some new personal goals…mainly financial because I now have a steady income again! [I would like to] buy a new car, move into my own place, go on a solo trip! I haven’t done any of those things yet and am excited to chip away at them one-by-one... That certainly wasn’t the case before I started this job!”
JL: “In 2024, I started part-time in a radiology program but failed my physics course so I had to wait almost an entire year to restart the program in 2025.”
The next question I asked was if the interviewees were aware of the socioeconomic pressures of “having it all figured out” (such as getting married, having kids, a set career, a home, knowing who you are, etc.) before the age of 30 and their opinions on those expectations:
AM: “In my social work role, I’m realizing there are more and more people who haven’t followed the prescribed life path I grew up learning about and they have turned out absolutely fine. The expectation of [having everything figured out] assumes a level of access to resources that some people just don’t have. It’s kind of hard to have a career if you’re the primary caregiver for someone and that takes up all your time, or hard to get married if you’re queer in a country that makes any non-heteronormative marriage illegal [for example].”
JL: “I am not fond of these socioeconomic pressures. My biggest concerns are having a set career, a home, and [figuring out] who I am, especially in the economy we live in. There is an emphasis on being able to support yourself and move out on one’s own, even though it’s almost impossible to do so. Figuring out who you are is also quite difficult in today’s society, considering factors like [increased] depression, anxiety, lack of community, politics, and social media, etc.”
ED: “I am painfully aware of the socioeconomic pressures on emerging adults. I think about it every day. With the current state of the world, it’s impossible to make a living wage, afford healthcare, and pay [for important things] without drowning in debt. Gen Z as the “emerging adults” are suffering from the choices of our grandparents, parents, and even some of our peers and will be lucky to be able to move out of our parents’ homes by their 30s. [Additionally], as a masculine presenting lesbian, I only just came to terms with “who I am” about five years ago… People of the LGBTQ+ community are usually delayed in knowing who they are because of the conformity stamped onto us at an early age in [our] society.”
A follow up question was then asked to relate their struggles with socioeconomic pressure to the challenge that they shared with me, specifically if they have been able to overcome that challenge or not:
NB: “I’m still getting there with managing my time better but have gotten better than ever before! I've learned to deal with not [having to] be there for every [social] event and have found ways to [find more time to] study. My mental health has its moments [but improves significantly when I surround myself with other people].”
JL: “I am currently on a better track now than I was in 2024. I took time before going back [into the program] to study the [course] materials so that I would be in a better position upon reapplying. It was some of the most difficult work I’ve ever had to do but I reapplied to the [radiology] program and got in and will hopefully be done by June of 2027!”
ED: “Definitely not. It makes me sometimes feel like I'm way behind some of my peers, or people from prior generations.”
Lastly, the interviewees were asked if working at MCLS offered opportunities and/or resources that have aided in the socioeconomic challenge they have been speaking about:
MD: “Working at the library helped me with learning more fine motor skills and strengthening my hand grip, which has always been a struggle for me, by [bundling] books together with rubber bands. As well as learning how to read numbers [more accurately] which has helped me shelve the non-fiction sections with minimal struggle. My paychecks are also helpful to pay for my community college loans.”
AM: “The stability of having a job for the county and the benefits that come with that such as a consistent schedule and health insurance put me on good footing right at the start of my career.”
ST: “My role at the library has helped me to understand generational divides a lot better, especially in terms of just how much the world has changed and continues to change…Because I have to teach others new things, I also have to teach myself things quite often. I've realized in this role that I am passionate about learning and sharing my knowledge with others. No matter what happens next in my career, I know I will be teaching others in some way.”
ED: “Working at the library has afforded me good health benefits and a stable income. Additionally, having a library card provides me with endless entertainment and knowledge from books and AV materials. Bring back physical media!”
To close the interviews, I let the interviewees pass on any supportive advice and/or statement they would like members of the community, patrons, or staff to know that can positively combat the pressure society puts on emerging adults:
NS: “Take a step back to breathe.”
MD: “We are all still learning how to adapt to an ever-changing world. Be patient and give us advice you would think would benefit us in our futures.”
NB: “Live your life in a way that makes you happy. If you live for other people, you’ll look back and regret all of the choices you could and should have made for yourself that would have gotten you much farther and happier!”
AM: “There is no achievement that you get for checking all the boxes of “having it all figured out”. Sure, there’s benefits like stability and consistency that [having those boxes checked] can bring but those aren’t as important to your values [and maybe] less urgent than something else you’re aiming for at the moment! I would guess that if you ask anyone over 30, they will tell you that life doesn’t end at 30 regardless of how many things you have figured out.”
ST: "If there is anyone else out there like me, I would tell them that they are never alone. The best choice I ever made was choosing to lead my life with kindness, for others and myself. Give yourself grace.”
JL: “I would advise others to seek community, to avoid comparison as much as possible, and to use their resources, especially free resources that are available to them.”
ED: “As the younger generation, we will get our chance at some point to right a lot of the wrongs that are happening in the world right now. In the meantime, the best thing to do is to educate and enrich yourself, form your own opinions, and most importantly, to move at your own pace. Everyone is different and only you can do what’s right for yourself. Also, read Walt Whitman, he had it figured out, or at least wrote like he did.”
I hope that you were able to relate to some of the statements given and/or learned a little more about emerging adulthood, socioeconomic pressures and how the MCLS community has provided aid in various ways to help those in trying times! Remember, everyone is on their own path, at their own pace, and life is not meant to be a race constricted by an imaginary timeline but a unique experience that is meant to live, learn, and enjoy in any way, shape, or form.
Most importantly, I want to give a very special thank you to all my coworkers who gave me permission to interview them in a truly meaningful and impactful way.
Website links and book recommendations have been provided below that I have found to be terrific resources for the topics discussed:
Gen Z More Likely to Report Mental Health Concerns
On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges
MCLS Social Services Resource Guide
Mercer County Division of Health and Human Services
Weiss Financial Ratings – Personal finance information, including how to create a budget, manage debt, information on home buying.
Habits of the Heart by Robert N. Bellah
Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic - and What We Can Do About It by Jennifer Breheney Wallace
Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood by Satya Doyle Byock
– Amber-Leigh Ritter, B.S., FT Circulation Staff at the Lawrence HQ Branch.
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