Something Clever

It’s hard to imagine my parents having lives before me.

I know. Selfish.

Before me – before my tangible memories – my parents’ lives are blurred and hazy. I have an older brother, and my perception of his life is just the same. What interesting thing could have happened before I was around? And I’m only half joking.

They say that Boomers are narcissistic and self-centered (sorry Boomers), but I would argue that there are none more so than Zoomers – the baby boomer antithesis.

I, of course, am a Zoomer. And I find that Zoomer is the only Gen-Z name I can say without cringing more than necessary. If Zoomer is the acceptable one, that’s not saying much about the other names out there, is it?

But, this post isn’t about me.

Mom and Dad are from two different generations, Gen-X and Boomer respectively. It’s hard to imagine them being 22, all wide-eyed and hopeful, first entering the world fresh off the trials and tribulations of undergraduate education.

In part, it’s hard to imagine them that way, because I myself am not wide-eyed and hopeful. I am wide-eyed, yes, but wide-eyed with fear, and unease, in anger and in disbelief.

There I go, talking about myself again.

Back in their early 20’s, my parents hadn’t even met each other yet. That’s partially because they didn’t have their early 20’s at the same time, so I have to imagine them separately.

Let’s begin here: when my mom was 22, my dad was 29, and neither had met the other.

(I can’t even imagine being 29. There’s something so universal about people 22 thinking that 30 is so old. But again, this post isn’t about me.)

Mom at 22 would have just begun to enter the workforce, same as me. My dad at 22 was graduating from the same college that I would go on to attent and starting his masters there too.

Really, the main thing here is that to me, they seem like they really had their shit together.

I, at 22 (23 in four months), do not think I have my shit together.

They probably didn’t. Is there any time in your life when you can really say that you weren’t just winging it? Hoping that as you free fall you don’t get caught in a spin?

Life comes at you fast, whether you’re 22 or 60 (that’s how old my dad is now, born in the last year of his generation.) And the best thing that you can do is hope that in the future, people can look back and think that you were doing something more than just winging it.