I am part of a generation that is struggling to have what our parents had but failing miserably in the process.
We are a generation full of debt and the use of humiliation as a means of humor. We are obsessed with the lives of ‘celebrities’ going so far as to track their every movements through Twitter and other social medias. We have witnessed the time when MTV was mostly music videos to now when it’s just ‘real’ stories focused on ourselves. We throw money at the latest pair of shoes while accepting the reality that we will most likely always be in debt with little chance of ever retiring.
We are self-obsessed, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still civic minded, we want to change the world but are still learning how. We have seen the same type of tragedy rip through our country and spark a controversial war just as our grandparents, at our very same ages, felt impacted by themselves. The difference is nearly everyone in my generation actually witnessed happen, even if we weren’t in the city ourselves, we saw it and in turn felt it. We all remember where we were as we watched the smoke billow from those tall buildings, and watched as our parents and teachers let tears fall as shadowy figures fell from the broken edges, ruining the safety the generation before had always felt up until that point and teaching us to always be prepared for the worst.
A majority of us are stuck struggling to have the lives our parents did. Married at 23 with 2.5 kids at the age of 30? That’s no longer the reality or even the dream that it was twenty or thirty years ago. We are a generation that continues to bar hop through the end of our twenties, crossing our fingers that putting off children until our late thirties will work out. For most, this isn’t even a choice but something that is thrust upon us. Many aren’t in the same place financially or emotionally to support an entire household, as our parents thankfully were. And for every one person in my generation that is equipped to handle all that responsibility, there are five more scouring the help wanted ads in hopes of finding the career that will pay them slightly more than minimum wage just to keep their cats fed. Should we feel bad that we haven’t found our other half? Or should we celebrate the fact that we are probably escaping the scary divorce statistic most of our parents had the horror of going through? Should we feel bad about the fact that we’re living with multiple roommates and not owning our own house? Or should we be thankful we don’t have the added expense of a mortgage on our already growing pile of school and health care bills?
Hell, there’s been many recent articles written about the twentysomethings that are still living with their parents in the hopes of saving that magic number that will finally move them out of the nest and away from the stacks of student loans that come in, present company included. Should we feel bad about the fact that we’re mooching from our parents for that much longer because they still make more money then us? Or should we just be appreciative of the fact that we’re avoiding the bounced rent checks?
Living paycheck to paycheck? Our generation lives paycheck to four days before the next paycheck.
Fingers could be pointed all day at whose fault this is. Was it our parents and the expectations of spending an ungodly amount on college tuition for the guarantee of better jobs that just aren’t there? But, it’s not like they knew we would be living through one of the toughest times financially since the great depression, so that’s out. Should we blame the government for not providing more jobs or for making it harder on our parents generation to retire? Well, we all know where blaming the government gets anyone. So then, is it our fault for not growing up fast enough and choosing instead to ignore the depressing circumstances surrounding us and instead prolong our young adulthood for that much longer? I don’t think any of us have any right to say. We are where we are and now we just have to stop feeling bad about where our generation isn’t and focus on where it’s going instead.
My generation is amazing. We are smart. We are outspoken and passionate. We have seen rock bottom and now know that we can make things better for the next generation. In between articles on Miley Cyrus and her latest twerking escapades and whose wearing what to the Golden Globes we sneak in ones on looming government shutdowns and conflicts happening in the Middle East. We are studying up and preparing for the time we take over our communities, no matter how delayed that time is.
So for our generation, I suggest we continue to redefine what it means to be an adult. We keep pushing boundaries of what’s acceptable and break down the rules of where we should be and instead focus on where we could be. Because I truly believe for my generation, this could potentially be the most exciting part of our lives…so far.
Second Star On The Write 