Wildfires. Wars. Climate anxiety. Economic uncertainty. For many young people, the future doesn’t feel like a promise—it feels like a loss.

We don’t always call it grief, but it is. The grief of realizing the world won’t look like what you imagined. The grief of knowing childhood dreams might not fit into today’s realities. The grief of futures cut short by crises beyond your control.

End Education helps us name this truth: sometimes what hurts most is not what has ended already, but what may never come to be.

At One Life Many Endings, we explore grief in all its forms—including the grief of unrealized futures. Unlike death or breakups, this kind of loss is harder to see. It’s not about one person or one moment, but about a shifting horizon.

Young people today are growing up in a world saturated with global challenges. News cycles repeat images of destruction, inequality, and instability. Social media amplifies fears with statistics, warnings, and stories from across the planet. This constant exposure doesn’t just inform—it reshapes how the future is imagined.

What once felt open and full of possibility can start to feel fragile, unpredictable, or even unsafe. And that sense of loss—the loss of certainty, the loss of imagined futures—is real.

The first step is recognition: grief is not limited to what has already ended. We can also grieve what never arrives. Naming this helps young people understand that their sadness, fear, or disorientation are valid responses to living in an uncertain time.

The second step is choice. While no one can control the course of global events, young people can find personal rituals of resilience. Some choose to engage—joining climate strikes, volunteering, or raising awareness. Others find grounding in creative acts like journaling, painting, or writing letters to their “future selves.” Some simply set boundaries with the news and digital feeds, protecting their mental space. Each of these choices helps reclaim agency in a world that often feels overwhelming.

Reframing is also important. The future may not match childhood expectations, but that doesn’t mean it is devoid of hope. Learning to adapt—recognizing that multiple futures are possible—can transform grief into motivation. A changed future is still a future worth shaping.

And then comes community. Facing global uncertainty alone can lead to despair. Facing it together can create solidarity. When young people share their fears and dreams with peers, they realize they are not alone in their grief. Collective spaces—whether online groups, school projects, or local initiatives—can become sources of both comfort and empowerment.

Grieving the future you expected does not mean giving up. It means acknowledging the gap between imagination and reality, and then choosing how to move forward anyway.

At O.L.M.E., we believe this form of grief deserves as much attention as any other. Because when young people learn to face uncertain futures with honesty, they also learn resilience, creativity, and the courage to build new possibilities.

The future may be different from what was once imagined. But it is still open. And honoring the grief of what was lost is the first step toward creating what comes next.