Millenial Syndrome
When did we get to a place where we are bragging about how much fun we don’t have? Why is it now popular to lay around and be lazy and refer to ourselves as “grandmas”?
I remember being in college and staying up until 1- 2:00am just for fun. Like I get it, adulthood is real. I can admit that I find myself looking forward to nights of relaxation after a long week and decompression. What confuses me, though, is this “embrace-the-lazy” mindset and being so okay with living your pajamas that you brag about it on social media.
Ever since my most recent birthday this message from one of my high school teachers has been haunting me. He said, “Do me a favor, and live out your twenties- don’t settle down, that’s what your thirties are for.” I remember kind of blowing it off because at that time I thought if I wasn’t married by age 22, I would be forever alone. Now I’m 26.. And damn, that guy was looking out for us!
It’s pretty common for the millennial generation to feel like we are out of time, right? We are out of time to be young and party while also running out of time to meet our life partner and settle down. We are out of time to find what we really want to do in life but are also out of time to learn new things and start over. I turned 26 this year and for some reason, it has been the hardest birthday yet. Literally anyone older than me, would probably laugh because I’m only 26. I get it, I’m young. However, I am a young person who is afraid of waking up 50 years from now and wishing I had more fun or spent my time more wisely; not with friends who were negative, not in dead end relationships past their shelf life, or not in jobs that weren't fulfilling. I wake up now and feel discouraged because when people my age are staying in, going to sleep early, and embracing their elderly status, it’s impossible to feel like we aren’t out of time. The other population of people my age are getting married and having kids and then I really never see them anymore; how are we supposed to feel like we have time left to “live it up” when we are pressured to focus on finding ourselves a spouse and a job and a house?
Our society should be more about how to make the most of the time we have and how to experience the most happiness; for some, I understand that for some, that means watching tv for the entire weekend or even killing themselves at a job they hate just because they make a lot of money. Even getting married and having kids right at a younger age. Obviously, people do what they want to do. In my opinion, it’s time to put grandma to bed once and for all and start living like the age we are.