No, you’re not the only adult looking for an adultier adult to exempt you from your existential crisis; we are all loose cannons hanging by strings held together with Advil and cannabis. The situations may differ, but the generation of unanimously detached adults with the feeling of inadequacy remains constant. It only feels like yesterday when your problems ranged between struggling for good grades and waiting for the lanky boy to text you back. While now you lay sleepless, shuttling between anxiety and stress, wondering about deadlines, bills and rent. You daydream about napping at work when your accountant tries to explain the alien concept of TDS to you.
Navigating through life, often directionless, we look for that one voice to tell us that it is okay to be, ‘not okay’, at all times, it is okay to not have it all together at all times. Remember when Britney Spears shaved her head back in 2007 and had a meltdown? It all makes sense now. But as we are busy looking for that voice outside, we fail to find that source of strength within. If parental and societal pressure wasn’t enough, we serve as self-critics, nit-picking our flaws and faults. Constantly vacillated between achieving goals and living in the moment, we create a dual existence where we are only left feeling mediocre.
Popularly known as the urban poor, not because of some serious financial crisis, this generation has built a superficial imagery of them which demands most of their bank account moolah. Sounds relatable? Of course, it does, it’s time you stop re-routing every morning to Starbucks for that tall mocha frappe and get your act together. The reckless generation that spends more than they earn, has a lot of fixing to do. We’re always updated about the newest shows, movies, diets, cafes and the dumbest Instagram challenges but we possess very little knowledge of what actually matters. As soon as you shed the entitlement and realize that the world owes you nothing, your perspective starts to take the high road. Let’s work our way backwards, shall we?
As hard as it may all seem, you have to work your way up the ladder, as much as you would like to believe you’re the best, there are 10 more people who can do your job better. Instil humility and let go of that hostility. Strive more for inner peace while fighting those conflicting moments and let things unfold naturally. Until then, seek solace in the fact that you’re not the only rummaging through the curve balls that life throws at you. Take one day at a time, there will be heartbreaks, failures, promotions, but in between those moments is the real life that we don’t foresee. Sit back and savour moments instead of just capturing them, indulge in real conversations without constantly being a virtual slave. While you’re busy perfecting your Instagram grid, you’re losing on countless connections in the actual world.