I missed being born in the 1970s by 28 days, making me, officially, a child of the 80s. though I was too young to remember the earlier part of that decade, I do have vivid recollections of watching MTV (my favorite videos as a 4 YO were "Material Girl" and "Man Eater"- go figure) and being carried in my father's arms through the movie theater parking lot after seeing "Return of the Jedi." So while I didn't learn of the Brat Pack till I was on the hot-pink-cusp of the early 1990s, I felt a kindred spirit with John Hughes' MollyAllyJuddEmilioAndrewAnthonyJonDemi character. my high school senior quote was uttered by the baby-faced Mathew Broderick, who did for Ferrari's what Tom Cruise in "Risky Business" did for BVDs: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it."
At 17 it was easy to relate to the desire for independence and excess. being young. having a good time. just living your life. now 10 years down the line, I'm approaching my Golden Birthday- in January I will turn 28 on the 28th- and I feel like most people around me still want to be Peter Pan. not to say that there's something wrong with never growing up. I think most people feel nostalgic for the ease of childhood and the thrall of late adolescence. I wonder sometimes though, as I approach my thirties, how anyone can get to this point in her life and not know what the hell she wants and/or not already at least be on the verge of accomplishing it.
A while back Ms. Nola pointed me to an article in the New York Times describing my generation's love affair with the Odyssey years of their 20s. I've had my share of wandering and exploration. hell, according to the article, knitting groups, Teach for America, and Facebook stalking all instantly qualify me as Odysseus. and while I still haven't attained all the hallmarks of adulthood (career, financial independence, family, stability)- I feel like I've moved beyond what seems to be the 20-something quest of "finding yourself." now maybe I'm at fault for not longing for more, but honestly, I'm pretty damn happy with who I am and how I've lived my life so far. it's odd, as someone who feels secure in herself, to question whether I'm truly living enough thanks to the constant reminder that others are still stumbling forward in search of something bigger, better... bliss, zen, or whatever. why should I feel at a loss because I feel like I've already found that something in myself? right, Ferris?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment