Overview

• TikTok user Yossi Vega posted a video in mid-August showing her eating lunch and lamenting that former classmates with low grades now travel while she, a straight-A student, lives on a minimum-wage salary.
• The clip’s on-screen text declares that school grades do not guarantee success and echoes the line ‘eres vivo en la escuela, pero en la vida real no tanto’.
• Milenio reported that the video surpassed 110,000 views within four days and drew thousands of comments from users sharing similar frustrations.
• Some commenters attributed success to social skills, networking and chance opportunities whereas others offered examples of top students who secured scholarships, graduate degrees and careers abroad.
• Vega later posted a follow-up video clarifying that her message was a personal vent and experts have cited national surveys indicating that many recent graduates face low wages and a mismatch between academic credentials and in-demand workplace skills.