I still remember the first time I saw zombies on TV. A 13-year-old me, already afraid of the dark, watched in horror as they appeared on screen: pale faces, haunting moans, lifeless eyes. It was terrifying. I ran to my room and hid under the covers. But none of that could protect me from the nightmare.
For those who don’t know, zombies were once human. A failed experiment turned them into mindless creatures—stripped of life, yet still walking, still searching. They were shells of their former selves, caught in a cycle of endless hunger.
But what about us? The ones trapped in an endless cycle of searching for a job? Are we also zombies?
At first, I was haunted by the idea, and I couldn’t shake it off. Think about it: people full of hope, believing in the promise of opportunity, working hard because they were told effort would lead to success, only to face rejection after rejection.
How would we feel? Our energy fades. The light in our eyes dims.
We wander through job listings like zombies roam deserted streets: moving forward but getting nowhere. We aren’t searching for flesh, but for something just as essential: dignity, purpose, stability. And just like in zombie films, society looks past us.
But then I stopped myself. How could I dare make this comparison? We are not zombies. And we never will be.
Yes, I know. We are tired. We feel lost sometimes. But beneath the exhaustion, beneath the frustration, there is still hope—faint, but alive.
A hope that one day, a door will open. That someone will see us. That we will no longer feel invisible. And this hope is what makes us human, not zombies.
We don’t just exist; we fight. Every single day, against a system that overlooks us, against rejection after rejection, against the fear of giving up.
We are not zombies. We are fighters.
So the next time you see someone endlessly searching for a job, don’t dismiss them. Don’t call them lazy. Don’t assume they have stopped trying. Because they are still here. Still hoping. Still fighting.
I never thought I would use this metaphor, but something pushed me to share it. Maybe because, when I first wrote this, I was still one of them. And maybe, through this, I hoped to give voice to our struggle, so that the world sees us for who we truly are…FIGHTERS.
