Today's thought, or really more of a pondering: Why is society so fascinated by the lives of twenty-somethings?
This stemmed largely from having just watched too many Girls episodes in quick succession, but it got me thinking more broadly: Girls, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, New Girl. All shows which explore the lives of young adults trying (and in many cases, failing) to get their shit together.
But why the fascination? In my current position, I'm standing on the edge of twenty-something-ness, feeling the semi-security of university shaking under my feet and looking at the vast, unknowable, unpredictable chasm of the 'Future' with a gradually building but increasingly distinct sense of panic. Up until now there has always been a Next Step along The Path; go to school, get A-Levels, go to university, get a degree. Now, it feels like I am counting down to the point in a few months time when I will fall off the edge of The Path and come face-to-face with reality in a horrifically sink-or-swim manner. To put it more simply (and drop the weird combination of metaphors), imagine the red dot is security, consistency and general confidence in your life - the pug is me:
Now what, dear God what, is so fascinating about that? Depressing, concerning and mind-blowingly terrifying, yes, but fascinating? This seems to me a prime case of romanticising.
In the end I think it comes down to misunderstanding - or more likely misremembering. If nothing else can be said for being young, poor and confused, at least most twenty-somethings have no responsibility to anyone but themselves. In theory, sure, we could fly off travelling at a moment's notice, quit the day-job to follow our dream and sleep with anyone we happen to come into contact with. Except we don't live in a sitcom; the real world has real consequences. 'Free' from responsibility we may be, but that doesn't make us 'free' in any other sense - particularly financially. Regardless of what you are capable of doing in terms of personal freedom, thinking about what you, as a young adult just out of university, can actually afford to do is probably more likely to make you feel like this:
(This is getting way more depressing than I meant it to be...sorry.)
Or maybe it's just that the problems of youth are easier to sugar-coat than the problems of later life. Sure, you've got no money - but at least you've got parents to fall back on. Sure, your love life's a mess - but at least you're young enough to take advantage of all the options worth exploring. Sure, you don't know where you'll be living in three months - but at least you're not tied down or trapped.
And to look at it that way actually makes me feel the least worried I've been in a while. Maybe it isn't sugar-coating so much as a Real Adult way of looking back and realising that the problems you faced as a twenty-something, whilst still being problems, were at least simpler problems. Finding a last-minute place to rent is easier on your own than with a family. Moving to a new city for a fresh start or a job opportunity is far less hassle as a couple than if you have kids. Dating / finding someone to be with has much better odds as a young adult than a divorcee - through the simple fact that there are a lot more people in that situation. If nothing else, at least as a young adult you can look around you, and know that everyone has either dealt with this, is dealing with this, or will deal with it in the future. And that's actually surprisingly comforting.
On which note, I am going to sleep, and leaving you with this:
(Also this article on why Friends is fabulous / still relevant. It's like this post, except less embedded in reality, and thus cheerier.)
