In
the David Brooks article, It’s Not About
You, Brooks talks about how today’s generation has been so highly guarded
by the older generations that they don’t have a clue how to function in the
real world. When they were children and under the control of their parents they
had no freedom, and were on short leashes.
Upon graduation and being set free into the real world, they get to
experience their own freedoms and make choices that are new to them. This
generation of people also tend to be self-loving and worship the idea of
themselves. After this generation figures out what they are doing in life they
slowly begin to lead lives just like the rest of the world. In Barbara Grahams
Article Confessions of a Quit Addict, Barbara
talks about all the decisions that she made on her own after she enters the
real world. She makes decisions to quit several things and live her life the
way she wants to. Her main goal is to find happiness in the world and live for
herself. Barbara says: “I was stubborn and tenacious in my devotion to the
people and things I loved, disrespectful of everything else.” Meaning, things
that did not arouse her passions didn’t seem worth pursuing. After a few years
of living on the wild side she finally decides to stop quitting and learned
that everything she was doing to find happiness was not working for her. She
wrote about her journey to find happiness and decided to settle down in one
place and plant her roots. Both articles talk about the transition to
adulthood. The freedom that comes with graduating and being set free to go down
whatever path you choose. At first most choose to go down the wrong path and
lead a life of adventure. This generation of people has also been known for
being very self-loving and worshiping of themselves. This is what the first few
years of freedom are like for most. I believe that the connection between both
is that the older generations has been so protective of their children shaping
their lives and living the lives they wish they’d lived through their kids that
they almost hit the ground running as soon as they are released into the real
world. Negative choices that they make are part of what is to come when you
have been so guarded and sheltered all your life. Eventually the excitement of
freedom begins to wear off and more important life decisions begin to happen.
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