Confessions of an Undisguised Drama Queen

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Time

"Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives" -- quoted from a famous soap opera.

I haven't been updating my blog recently and possibly anyone can guess why.

I don't have the time and luxury to.

But then there are those that argue that if I put my heart to it, I will somehow find or make time to pen down my thoughts and recollections at the end of the day.

I beg your pardon but I'd rather be doing something more worthwhile.

Not that blogging is becoming like a chore; but for everytime I decide to stay away from the computer or tv, my day becomes miraculously longer...

I get an extra minute to...

stare at the sky and appreciate how blue it looks;
smile at the people around me and ask how they've been;
chew on my food longer and savour every taste of it;
watch my little hamsters keep themselves amused by digging at the plastic walls;
listen and not just hear when people speak;
be sensitive to emotions and be less self-centred;
stay in lala-land longer so I'm a more pleasant person when I wake! (i am really a terror with the foulest moods and at my most touchy and irritable when i lack sleep *roar*)

So you see, my absence in cyberspace is justifiable.

I came across an article yesterday and it totally freaked me out. It was actually a social study on young Britains who are increasingly dissatisfied with their lives but can't pinpoint why. The freaky part? It sounded like it was talking about me. Specifically.

Here are snippets of it that reflect my exact sentiments:

Today's young school-leavers and graduates are less certain, less single-mindedly materialistic, but also more ambitious: they want 'fulfilment', although they are not quite sure what it is, and even less clear on how to get it.

The 'something' they are searching for may well be unattainable, but they have high - some would say unrealistic - expectations, and they move from job to job, or indeed from career path to career path, desperately seeking perfection.

"I like the idea of being a journalist, maybe a science journalist, but then that wouldn't satisfy my artistic side, designing and making things - but then I wouldn't just want to do art or design as a career; I need something more intellectual..."(quoted by an interviewee)

"I am quite happy being single. I don't have time for a boyfriend. Sometimes after a bad day I think it might be nice to have someone, but generally I get my little hits of flirting on a Friday night that keep me going for the rest of the week." Female, 33

"I think expectations are very high on everything in one's life and what it should be like, and that definitely includes a partner. I think there is a lot of disappointment and break-ups as a result of that expectation." Female, 22

So, underneath all of the apparently random and restless job-hopping, mate-hopping, house hopping, boomeranging and lifestyle-shifting, we can see that young people are actually, if anything, rather more conservative, moderate and conformist - and certainly more cautious and anxious - than their parents' generation. The majority have fairly unadventurous, bourgeois aspirations: they want to own their own house, find a good job, settle down, get married, have children, be successful at work and financially secure, and so on.

Although their expectations are higher - they are less willing to 'settle' or an unfulfilling job, an imperfect partner, a rented flat - their ambitions are essentially much the same as those of their parents. They want better, more personally 'tailored' versions of the same things their parents wanted, and they are prepared to experiment, to 'shop', for longer in order to find the life that fits and suits them best.

(And something I particularly liked in this article...)

Thirty, rather than the traditional 18 or 21, is now seen by many as the real point of transition to adulthood. This view is by no means universal, but other social trends suggest that it is becoming more widespread. It is no mere coincidence, for example, that 30th-birthday parties have increasingly become a 'big event' in many people's lives, a more significant 'rite of passage' than the 18th or 21st birthday, and certainly one that is the focus of much more anxiety and soul-searching.

The 18th birthday brings some new privileges, but very few responsibilities;
the 21st is just an excuse for a celebration; <-- see, I've always insisted that the 21st yr is really not that big a deal.
the 30th is the one young people worry about, the benchmark date by which they feel they should have made some important decisions about their lives and careers, or at least cut the umbilical cord and left home...

For the full story, click here

[Time of Confession] 7:40 PM
0 Wisecracks for Me

_______________________________________________________________________________________

0 Comments: