What I may have to say in this post may be offensive to some, but if you're easily offended, take everything written as a personal attack, don't have an openmind, and not in the mood to reflect and see if there is any truth behind it, then you should not read this.
Now that that's out of the way. All I can say is what the hell is going on with the people in my generation? I've had several conversations with people lately discussing the disintegration of our society. I look at what we place value on and it saddens me. We overindulge and lose sight of our personal values (that's assuming that we had them to begin with) to create a facade that will allow some sort of validation by our peers. People are going into debt trying to keep up with a lifestyle that we shouldn't expect to be living at this point in our lives or career. Consistently chasing paper to get the shoes, the nails, the hair, the clothes, the car, the whatever to impress others...but when you strip a person of all those things, what do you have left standing there? If we spent more time building our character and community instead of our image, I'm sure we wouldn't passively accept the injustices that occur right in front of our eyes.
I've heard so many of my friends tell me they want to get themselves back to a place of happiness. It was there but amidst all of the hustle and bustle and paper chasing, they lost it. I lost it to. For a long time I wasn't happy with the position that I was in, constantly thinking of what I need to do next to fulfill expectations set by those outside of myself. If I didn't change how I thought, I would still be trying to figure out how to get my happy back. It's not going to fall in your lap one day, you have to be proactive and go after it. I spent 4 years at an institution that cost a pretty penny. When I graduated I accepted a position at a shelter that paid HALF of one years tuition. Given the institution I attended, it is expected that I would be making twice what I made as a minimum. I don't regret it. I loved my job, I enjoyed and looked forward to going to work everyday. I made the money I made work for me. If it wasn't necessary I didn't get it. Simple. I work at a shelter now, I love my job, I have the education, experiences, and skills to make 3 times the amount i'm making but waking up and going to a job I love and not loathe is a must in my book.I'm not saying everyone needs to be frugal, but living inside one's means and knowing the motivation behind certain expenses made need to be evaluated. In addition to doing work that you're passionate about, find time to do other things you are passionate about as well, no one else will make the time for it to happen. I believe in not making excuses, either make it happen or accept that it's not.
Let's talk about instant gratification. Our parents fucked us over on this one. Yeah, it's great to get things that they didn't have or didn't have to work hard for, but there is a purpose and great lesson learned behind the struggles they endured. We want things to come easily. That dream job needs to fall on our laps, the dream house and car magically appear and our lives are all peachy keen. If something doesn't come easily we don't want it and this is most evident in our relationships. Relationships require work, lots of it at times. The minute something gets difficult or becomes "too much" the towel is being thrown in and folks are moving on to the next. I'm not sure what happened in investing in an individual and building something great but I fail to see it.
Washington, DC is a great place to acquire a complex. The first question you're asked is "what do you do?" The way you answer can determine the whole direction of the conversation and can either maintain or end it. But really, if someone is trying to size you up and determine whether or not you can be used as a pawn in their own advancement, is that someone you really want to continue speaking with?
I don't have high hopes for my generation and their contributions (other than facebook) to bettering our society
Anyway, I can continue with my rant but i'm going to step off my soapbox now.
P.S I own a BMW....(Bus, Metro, Walking pass!)
Now that that's out of the way. All I can say is what the hell is going on with the people in my generation? I've had several conversations with people lately discussing the disintegration of our society. I look at what we place value on and it saddens me. We overindulge and lose sight of our personal values (that's assuming that we had them to begin with) to create a facade that will allow some sort of validation by our peers. People are going into debt trying to keep up with a lifestyle that we shouldn't expect to be living at this point in our lives or career. Consistently chasing paper to get the shoes, the nails, the hair, the clothes, the car, the whatever to impress others...but when you strip a person of all those things, what do you have left standing there? If we spent more time building our character and community instead of our image, I'm sure we wouldn't passively accept the injustices that occur right in front of our eyes.
I've heard so many of my friends tell me they want to get themselves back to a place of happiness. It was there but amidst all of the hustle and bustle and paper chasing, they lost it. I lost it to. For a long time I wasn't happy with the position that I was in, constantly thinking of what I need to do next to fulfill expectations set by those outside of myself. If I didn't change how I thought, I would still be trying to figure out how to get my happy back. It's not going to fall in your lap one day, you have to be proactive and go after it. I spent 4 years at an institution that cost a pretty penny. When I graduated I accepted a position at a shelter that paid HALF of one years tuition. Given the institution I attended, it is expected that I would be making twice what I made as a minimum. I don't regret it. I loved my job, I enjoyed and looked forward to going to work everyday. I made the money I made work for me. If it wasn't necessary I didn't get it. Simple. I work at a shelter now, I love my job, I have the education, experiences, and skills to make 3 times the amount i'm making but waking up and going to a job I love and not loathe is a must in my book.I'm not saying everyone needs to be frugal, but living inside one's means and knowing the motivation behind certain expenses made need to be evaluated. In addition to doing work that you're passionate about, find time to do other things you are passionate about as well, no one else will make the time for it to happen. I believe in not making excuses, either make it happen or accept that it's not.
Let's talk about instant gratification. Our parents fucked us over on this one. Yeah, it's great to get things that they didn't have or didn't have to work hard for, but there is a purpose and great lesson learned behind the struggles they endured. We want things to come easily. That dream job needs to fall on our laps, the dream house and car magically appear and our lives are all peachy keen. If something doesn't come easily we don't want it and this is most evident in our relationships. Relationships require work, lots of it at times. The minute something gets difficult or becomes "too much" the towel is being thrown in and folks are moving on to the next. I'm not sure what happened in investing in an individual and building something great but I fail to see it.
Washington, DC is a great place to acquire a complex. The first question you're asked is "what do you do?" The way you answer can determine the whole direction of the conversation and can either maintain or end it. But really, if someone is trying to size you up and determine whether or not you can be used as a pawn in their own advancement, is that someone you really want to continue speaking with?
I don't have high hopes for my generation and their contributions (other than facebook) to bettering our society
Anyway, I can continue with my rant but i'm going to step off my soapbox now.
P.S I own a BMW....(Bus, Metro, Walking pass!)
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