Our generation won’t grow up?
Perspective of a “twister” on adulthood, change, settling down and why some of us seem to refuse to do it.
By Lynnette Wilson
Time magazine recently published a very interesting article about people of my generation. “They’re not kids anymore, but they are not adults either […] they change apartments frequently, have no children, are in their mid to late twenties”. I read with fascination all the theories about why people of my generation won’t “grow up” and wondered if I fit the profile. Perhaps if you look at my life since college graduation you would think I do. Just for fun, I thought I’d examine my reasons for not “growing-up” and compare them with Time’s theories.
Am I a twister?
In the last five years I’ve lived in 2 countries (PR, USA), 5 states (VA, KS, IL, DC, MD) and 7 different apartments. I’ve lived alone and with roommates. I’ve worked for the same company… mainly because I’ve been able to change jobs and locations without changing corporations. At age 26 I just got married… finally… quoting some of my family members when I gave them the news of the engagement.
My mom had finally been feeling less worried about me. I’ve been in the same state for the last 2 years, live in a town I love, finished paying off my school debt and am happily married. My career is very promising, the pay is good and she really likes my husband. It seemed like she could move on to worry about other things. Soon I would be buying a house, maybe even having kids. Not really.
My husband and I decided to quit our jobs and join the Peace Corps. We’ve been nominated to a program in Latin America starting in May. My poor mother is worrying about me all over again. Am I ever going to settle down?
Am I a twister? I guess you could say so.
Why?
I don't consider myself a "twister". It is not that I am undecided or unstable. I am looking for more in life. I refuse to settle for a meaningless office job, boring life in a small personal world when I can go for more. I want to experience. I want to give back. The more I see, the more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize I have so much growing up to do. Life is too imporant to take it lightly. It needs to be lived. I want my life to be special. I want to, at the end of my days, look back and smile at everything I experienced.
I do want to have a family. I do want to settle down. I do want to “grow-up”. When I am ready. This is just not my time for that.
I can not speak for all in my generation, but I can tell about my own perspective. I am not refusing to grow up, I am enjoying the process. I am making the most of it. When I get to the next step in my life I will have all these experiences to bring to it and I will be a better person for it.
Time magazine recently published a very interesting article about people of my generation. “They’re not kids anymore, but they are not adults either […] they change apartments frequently, have no children, are in their mid to late twenties”. I read with fascination all the theories about why people of my generation won’t “grow up” and wondered if I fit the profile. Perhaps if you look at my life since college graduation you would think I do. Just for fun, I thought I’d examine my reasons for not “growing-up” and compare them with Time’s theories.
Am I a twister?
In the last five years I’ve lived in 2 countries (PR, USA), 5 states (VA, KS, IL, DC, MD) and 7 different apartments. I’ve lived alone and with roommates. I’ve worked for the same company… mainly because I’ve been able to change jobs and locations without changing corporations. At age 26 I just got married… finally… quoting some of my family members when I gave them the news of the engagement.
My mom had finally been feeling less worried about me. I’ve been in the same state for the last 2 years, live in a town I love, finished paying off my school debt and am happily married. My career is very promising, the pay is good and she really likes my husband. It seemed like she could move on to worry about other things. Soon I would be buying a house, maybe even having kids. Not really.
My husband and I decided to quit our jobs and join the Peace Corps. We’ve been nominated to a program in Latin America starting in May. My poor mother is worrying about me all over again. Am I ever going to settle down?
Am I a twister? I guess you could say so.
Why?
I don't consider myself a "twister". It is not that I am undecided or unstable. I am looking for more in life. I refuse to settle for a meaningless office job, boring life in a small personal world when I can go for more. I want to experience. I want to give back. The more I see, the more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize I have so much growing up to do. Life is too imporant to take it lightly. It needs to be lived. I want my life to be special. I want to, at the end of my days, look back and smile at everything I experienced.
I do want to have a family. I do want to settle down. I do want to “grow-up”. When I am ready. This is just not my time for that.
I can not speak for all in my generation, but I can tell about my own perspective. I am not refusing to grow up, I am enjoying the process. I am making the most of it. When I get to the next step in my life I will have all these experiences to bring to it and I will be a better person for it.
posted by Lynnette @ 11:34 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Lynnette
It is a nice Blog.. I saw your Wedding Photos.. Awesome :-)
It is interesting to know that both of you joined Peace Corps. Tell us more about it.
All the best in your new career.
Twister is a game you play naked and half-drunk, I thought? Or was that a movie I got in the back room of the video store?
Labels are just a way to tell people they are the same. This is dangerous, as Nietzsche reminds us: "The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Keep being you're own person - we all like you the way you are...twister or not ;-)
--Ryan
Lynnette, this is Samir. Wawe, great to see that you got a fantastic wedding. All the best for your future with the Peacecorps. I think u are right about one thing. We are the generation that dreams...a bit to much maybe. Hope to see u soon in the other side of the Ocean. Paris is and will be my favourite place on this planet. U are more than welcome. Although I live in switzerland, I am going quite often there. Please have fun and keep in touch (samir.zaghia@gmail.com)
I've moved 4 times since 2002, and had 7 different roomates. I'm 24 and just quit my job at the same company that Lynnette just quit. We probably have similiar reasons for wanting to get out, although we're moving in very different directions.
My thoughts:
I think our generation is less willing to compromise. We've grown up hearing "you can be anything you want to be" and we believe it. We know we can always settle down and be successful at some one thing if we have to, but we'd like to delay it as long as possible for 2 main reasons:
1.) Its fun bouncing around trying new things
and
2.) If we do settle down, the more we've experienced before we get there, the more likely we are to find something that we truly enjoy settling down to.
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