This is a journal. Not every day is joyful or inspiring, and as much as I preach practicing art every day...not every day is for art-making. Some days are for venting...some weeks are for feeling hyper-sensitive...some topics can instantly piss you off and throw you into a spiral, arguably against your will.
There are two subjects that send me into a fit, okay maybe a rage (but I'm small so people don't take my anger very seriously) ... the word "tolerance" and Generational Stereotypes. Those of you who know me know what's up. I will skip the word tolerance for today since some people would argue it a semantics issue (but it's really the most backhanded word in modern history, note the quotes and italics- super bitter typing ;) ).
Anyway, Generational Stereotypes.
Traditionalists are rule followers to a fault.
Baby Boomers are low tech.
GenXers are assholes.
(Oregon Trail-ers are the kindest, most empathetic people in the history of people because we watched out families die from cho-ler-ia on an Apple Macintosh)
Millennials are babies.
GenZ is basically Wall-E bound.
No one wants to be labeled this way...except Oregon Trail-ers. I cannot understand how a 20 year chunk of people can be labeled as the same. People can't even agree on the dates! Especially, now with the constant changes in tech, information access, tiny world, mobility. I am not an authority-hating, breakfast-clubbing, wolf of Wall Street, and I'm not an unmarried, basement dwelling, tech-drowning loser with a doctorate in underwater basket weaving. But I carry the weight of those labels.
I am one person.
You are one person.
Your kid is one person.
That guys over there is one person.
I was told my whole life to do what made me happy, do what I was passionate about, get a college degree and everything will be right with the world. I then graduated with a teaching degree...the year the market crashed and counties declared hiring freezes. I applied to more than 200, for arguments' sake -fake, over 200 fake jobs and received one rejection letter. Did I have the optimism of a Millennial? Absolutely! Did I quickly learn the pessimism of GenX? Absolutely. Because I am a person, not a generation.
On another personal note, I grew up in a retirement town in Florida. Half of my closest friends were over 65...probably over 70. I knew about cataracts before I had glasses. I know what respect is and no one ever had to hit me, I know what hard work is even though I've never plowed a field, and I know that I know literally nothing of hardship and need. Those qualities don't come from a decade, they come from people and experiences that we all have in common. First love, first concert, best friends, how your favorite songs make you feel- regardless of genre or time, pain, trust, fear, anger, joy, hunger, fullness...the things we're reacting to may be different but I don't believe they're different enough to fight over....so I'm mad and I'm fighting about it obviously.
The point is: If you can't say something nice, shut up. Just shut up. Shut up and listen because the one thing most generations will claim as their own is "caring." So prove it. Be empathetic. Be friends with people because there is more to life than birthdays and who was president when you first went to a voting booth. Literally everyone has stories to share and I bet listening and sharing will make you and your new friend better people. Individual people who require love and attention, and deserve time and respect. All of us.
So this week, or whenever the mood strikes, whatever the topic, write it all out. Rage. Burn the page (in the sink...don't sue me GenXer! ;) ...see what I did there?). Take notes over a few days or weeks or get it all out in one sitting. I've included a photo of my page and after typing this I really do feel better...I still have a very specific Blink182 song stuck in my head but I'm working on it. If you don't know who Blink182 is they are a very angst-y, punk, pop, alternative band with real life bad parents so there are lots of bad words and loud noises.
Go!
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