It's funny to me, after a Google scan I will deem equatable to an intensive search for truth, that there are no resources for people in their twenties to learn from. When googling about it, all I got were a few lame whining sessions - like the one I am posting at current, of course, only lamer - and some articles on finances. I, like so many people in their early twenties, do not have finances to speak of, and I am very good at managing my rent, electricity, food, repeat cycle of spending, thank you very much. Having no money now I think will adequately prepare me to appreciate and not waste it later. We'll see, but at any rate, there is nothing out there to help us cope, except some informal rants which maintain that, forget it, we're doomed to zip through this decade making poor choices that we will not remember anyway.
So why the lack of available resources online, and I assume elsewhere? Because of the blur that was other persons' lives back then, and their unwillingness to rehash it for the benefit of those who are currently a little thinner, younger, and stupider than they? I am not sure - but I think that if I make it to 30, I hope to be kind enough to impart some wisdom, and not so wrapped up in my life of raising kids, paying a mortgage, and complaining about my boss that I don't think about those poor souls battling 25. I will remember them, just as we now are forgotten. But what really, am I three years in, learning about this special time in life?
I have learned that old people will be concerned for your instability in life at 20, whereas if you ask them where they were at your age, or don't ask to be polite but remember what they've said in the past, you'll find yourself buoyed up by the fact that there lives were not so much secure back then, and probably a little less on track then yours. Or if not, well, that's okay too, because they got out of the shambles somehow, right?
I have had people ask me what I want to do with my life, and I can't rightly answer them, because the fact is I am doing what I want to do, it's just that my career path will need to be curvy, but people feel uncomfortable when they get an answer that is more than a long sentence. Careers in this world aren't cookie cutter, nor are those unbelievably naive things called dreams, but I want to fulfill them none-the-less, and I intend to! So I would say that we should embrace our connect the dots lifestyles at this age, and not worry about how others feel about it and judge it, unless that is, those people are the ones paying your bills. If that is the case, well, you can't blame them for their concern about what it is (existential awareness/floundering) that they are supporting. Even though it's hard, we should all probably aim to support our own lives, otherwise, we don't really have full ownership of them in all their glory and mistakes.
I am not some kind of 20s sage, as made obvious by my own search for greater wisdom on this subject than my own, but my other two bits of advice (to myself) would be - get used to appreciating the small things in life, and count your blessings. As previously mentioned, I and many others like me in their twenties not supported by their parents in large part, have no money. But really, money is not the be all end all. Even when wants to eat well, dress well, and have fun, their are plenty of options - like inheriting funky decorations and furniture from others, shopping at the universally stylish Target, and making your own adventures, preferably in settings where free food is offered. If you are hungry enough, and I know this from experience, free food really does seem to be all around.
As for counting blessings, I think it is very easy for twenties these days to go around in a whiny stupor complaining about getting a job, buying gas for their car, their roommate, their lack of self-knowledge, all the choices they don't want to make which emerge from all the opportunities (graduate school, travel, relationships) at their fingertips. Stop complaining and start enjoying it people! (I say this to myself as well). I mean, when everyone around me is worried about their own internships/expenses/ipods, or in the case of the older adults in my life, just where that life is going, I think that most of these worries stem from free time on our hands and misplaced priorities. I think people who have really blessed lives and free time on their hands should serve others, not fret or philosophize all this much. So maybe I should just shut up, huh? I just think it's funny that so many people out their like to talk about their problems and insecurities in their twenties, but aren't taking time out to breath, reflect, think a little less about the complications they have voluntarily put into their young lives, and think more about how as healthy, happy young adults, they can be a powerful wonderful force in the world, by thinking a little bit less about just how it is they can hypothetically do it.
Thank you, and goodnight.
No comments:
Post a Comment