Friends Are Buying Houses, I'm Still Renting
7/28/2026
2 min read
#OnMaTuTu
“Vân, 24, watches her old college roommate post keys to a new apartment while she still knows every crack in her rented walls by heart.”
— Friends Are Buying Houses, I'm Still Renting
Screenshot to share on your Story
9pm on a Sunday, Vân's lying on her bed in her rented room, scrolling Facebook. Her old college roommate just posted a photo holding the keys to a new apartment, caption full of exclamation points. Under it, a string of congratulations — one friend just got married, another just got promoted to manager.
Vân is 24. No house, no boyfriend, no clear promotion in sight. Whenever anyone asks how she's doing, the only honest answer is "getting by."
Her thumb taps like, types "Congrats!", then she just sits there for a moment watching the screen dim. It's not jealousy. It's that feeling of being left behind, even though nobody actually pushed her anywhere.
She sets the phone down and looks around the room. 12 million VND a month in rent, five years living here, knows every crack in the wall like the back of her hand.
It's not that Vân doesn't want a house. It's that everyone moves at their own pace — some faster, some slower, but everyone's still moving. A big tree grows slower than a small one, but its roots usually go deeper.
She turns off the phone, pulls up the blanket, and sleeps.
"Slow isn't falling behind. It's just moving at your own pace."
Whose pace are you comparing yours to?
How did this story make you feel?