I'm a big fan of the Brazen Careerist web community. I like to go there to get to know Gen Y better. Since I'm not hanging out with a lot of Ys as of yet, the intelligent blogs being posted there give real insight.But occasionally I read a post that makes my skin crawl. Because I was that kid, full of bravado, that would have written an entire sonnet devoted to the positive attributes of my generation. I'm not going to link to any of the actual posts that made me feel this way, because then the Ys tend to come out and crash my blog and go on and on about how I don't know what I'm talking about.
It's not that I don't like the Ys, I do. And it's not that I don't want them to comment here, I do. It's just that I'm not in the mood to finger point today.
There are times when I do wish there were blogs in the 90s. I have found great joy writing this blog and it really brought me back to writing for the sake of writing.
But although I miss my 25-year-old body, I do not miss my 25-year-old brain.
There are great Gen Y bloggers like Rebbeca Thorman whose blog is called Modite. There were times in my 20s when I was like Rebbeca, who is introspective and looks at issues from a standpoint far more mature than her years. But then there were times I was more like Janeane Garafolo with a really bad hangover.
Gen Xers - let's all be thankful that the only real record of our youthful angst is grunge music - and a few Time Magazine articles calling us slackers.
The photo is me at age 25
12 comments:
Amen, that.
Nice pic. I read today that Eddie Vedder hates being associated with grunge. Thanks for killing 80s hair metal, Eddie. You can't live it down. You and Kurt!
- Green Mullet.
Somewhere, my old college newspaper columns still live, in all their embarrassing righteousness.
@Kristina - at least paper eventually disintegrates - the web is forever.
They're probably on microfilm. Microfiche?
Not that anyone will know how to use that, or what it is.
@Kristina - you'd probably have to hold them up to the window to see what's on the film, as I have a suspicion that microfiche machines have gone the way of manual typewriters and cassette tape players.
-GenXpert
Ha, thanks so much. I appreciate the kind words. And I laughed when I saw Kristina's comment - I have newspapers from high school! Totally embarrassing.
To be fair, there are plenty of Xers in their 30s and 40s who still love to carry on about why their generation is the best, and why everyone who isn't a gen xer sucks. Case in point - Jeff Gordinier.
Like you, Suzanne, I'm grateful blogs, Myspace, Twitter, Facebook et al, didn't exist when I was in my twenties. I hate to think what boneheaded crap I would have revealed back then. Yikes!!
And Anon, I'm very familiar with Jeff Gordinier's work. His work is due to the huge press Gen Y and the Baby Boomers get. Gen X is kind of an afterthought to the mainstream media. He's just trying to remind people that, hey, Gen X still exists and many of them are pretty great. A lot of his writing is done with snarky good humor. Remember, our generation gave the world "The Daily Show" and "The Onion."
@Anonymous - While it's true that Xers still write about their generation (hence, this blog), I do believe that any generation does a better job in their 30s than in their 20s of not coming across like a nit.
And by the way, I LOVE Jeff Gordinier. He's totally right that Boomers and Ys are macro generations and Xers are micro generations. In his early 40s, his message is that Xers are making big changes in small ways (and frankly, not really taking or getting credit for a lot of it). That's a lot different than someone in their 20s saying, we're going to be so much better than you, we know more than you, and it's over for you. And that kind of message from 20-somethings has been constant forever. However, Gen Y will be the first generation where their 20-something message will be floating around in cyberspace forever. I feel sorry for them for that.
always love to see your comments over at Pen place - cheers le
Easily I assent to but I about the brief should have more info then it has.
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