You’ve probably read these stories about “millenials” and “emerging adulthood” by now. Ya know… the “in-depth” analyses of why “20-somethings” aren’t “growing up” fast enough.
Well, the way I see it, you don’t need a psychological research grant or a background in investigative journalism to understand that we are a generation born of unrest but blessed with the tools and freedoms to invent new norms.
Our grandparents struggled through World Wars and a Great Depression to settle comfortably into the long-sought convenience of the American suburb. Our parents raged against civil inequality and war, then got knocked-up and melted into that same cookie-cutter mold: 9-to-5s, carpools, churches, debt.
We saw that… No, I’ll get real here… I saw that and thought, “there’s got to be a better way.”
So when you wonder why we aren’t contributing to our 401ks or singing hymns, don’t turn to the New York Times - turn to us. Look at what we are doing instead of what we aren’t doing: Creating, Inventing, Innovating, Reenvisioning. Refusing to grow “up” because we’re growing something new from the rotting and fertile detritus of the American Dream.
Look to co-ops and start-ups and community spaces, but fuck you if you look to me for stock tips.
