is this all worth it?

When we're kids we're told that working hard pays off in the end. Our parents instill in us the values of hard work, perseverance, and getting an education. It is all made to seem so easy, a fairy tale which springs to life with ease. But this is never the case; often times quite the opposite happens. We work hard only to realize a new setback has arisen, we give our lives to jobs who care little about us except what labor we can provide, and we riddle ourselves with debt for an education that increasingly becomes hard to pay back. So what are we working towards? And are we losing the battle? Is this something worth fighting for? Or a hard illusion we've been sold by people who secretly wish to push us off to a dying world?