Can't find your "path?" Have identity issues? You must be a Gen X'er!

[Writer]

Are you between the ages of 28 to 45? If so, do you believe you have found a sense of direction in your life, or are you still floating about, looking for that correct opportunity to set you straight? Generation X has been labeled as "slackers" and cynics in the past, but how does one with a "get real" attitude adjust to an American culture full of pretense and narcissism?

What are your thoughts?

Curiously,

~Writer~

PS: Could I ask any more questions? ;)

[opiate69]

1. Let's see..

Turning 39 in less than a month, still harboring a (fast fading) dream of making a livable career from music, while working in a dead-end job for less than 30k/year.. yep.. sounds about right

[DarkTirade]

2. Well damn, I would fit that description but I'm only 26.

[Chovexani]

42. I'm 26 too

And depending on who's doing the math, I've been pegged as either the very tail end of Gen X, or the very beginning of Gen Y. :shrug:

[DarkTirade]

63. Well then that's another reason for us to be misfits...

we don't even have a generation of our own! :)

[JanMichael]

3. X'er with path and purpose and career. Sorry to be a bummer.

But I'm also a cynic and a hard Leftist so maybe that balances it out...

[leeroysphitz]

4. I'm 37 and I used to feel just the way you described until I...

Sold my soul to the MAN. Once I learned to not sweat the "details" (the WHY? questions thatI was obsessed with throughout my twenties and early to mid thirties) and started just going along to get along everything seemed to start coming up like roses. :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. I think it is called, Putting your game face on ...

Sort of like make-up. Remember to take off when you come home.

Another euphemism would be "war paint"

[leeroysphitz]

10. nevermind.

Oh well.

[Breeze54]

13. That's the easy road.. I've never ~ "started just going along to get along"

No fucking way in HELL!!! :puke:

I just can't be that way or do it!

I'm just not programmed that way, YMMV. :(

[leeroysphitz]

17. YMMBM

:hi:

[Breeze54]

21. LOL! I have no idea what YMMBM means but

OK!! :P

:hi:

[qwertyMike]

36. Sold my soul to the MAN.

Poor guy
I visited 38 countries and about 40 states (US) before I was 29 (Hippy days - VW Vans)
Then I tried working for the MAN again
Didn't work so on on 1977 so I went 'Back to the Land' in Cape Breton Island with a bunch if hippies
Best 6 years of my life

Except the year in Re-Hab

[Tuesday Afternoon]

54. I am confused --

You either put on a facade, or you really did sell out to the man. Perhaps, you just came around to seeing things "their" way...?

No biggie. I do not mean to cause you uncomfortable feelings.

[leeroysphitz]

5. Dupe

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. I had one...but then I lost it.

Now...no direction. But I've never considered myself a Gen Xer and I don't think I ever will.

[qwertyMike]

60. No Direction?

Like a Rolling Stone?

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Like-a-Rolling-Stone-lyrics-Bob-Dylan/7C67A810D442ECA64825696900296916

[Breeze54]

8. I'm still looking for myself...

:P

America (searching for it and myself)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCbOEZ8c8dM

(5:38)

Simon And Garfunkel

let us be lovers well marry our fortunes together
Ive got some real estate here in my bag
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and mrs. wagner pies
And we walked off to look for america
kathy, I said as we boarded a greyhound in pittsburgh
michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from saginaw
Ive gone to look for america... (myself)

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said be careful his bowtie is really a camera

toss me a cigarette, I think theres one in my raincoat
we smoked the last one an hour ago
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

kathy, Im lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping
Im empty and aching and I dont know why
Counting the cars on the new jersey turnpike
Theyve all gone to look for america
All gone to look for america
All gone to look for america

More... http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/america_20124598.html

-------

What?!

You think you're THE ONLY generation that said this about themselves or others have said it about them? :crazy:

:P

Also listen to "Kathy's Song"... when you get a chance. ;)

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/

Best Of Simon And Garfunkel (1999)
http://album.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/best+of+simon+and+garfunkel_20009653.html

[Kucinich4America]

9. Never did like these labels. I remember when Generation X was a BAND

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kImF9E2LNGE

[Wapsie B]

11. That describes me to a T and I'm a Boomer!

I never really did identify a great deal with the older Boomers with the sex, drugs, and Rock & Roll thing of the 60's & 70's. Having a direction is the quest of my life, and not having one has given opportunity for, shall we say, very jaded cynicism to grow and flourish.

[yorgatron]

12. i am The King of Slack.

it's getting kind of sad,really.

[Wapsie B]

14. It's not that we don't try,

because I know I do and I'm sure you do too. With me it's not being able to even formulate a goal of something to work towards. Instead, I always focus on getting away from something.

[Solon]

15. I'm 29 going on 109 and that describes me to a T...

Damn life sucks. :(

[Breeze54]

25. The Boxer

'The Boxer'

By Simon And Garfunkel

The Boxer (the recording is better, IMO... peppier!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZQOYV_mIFU

David Letterman appearance.. Live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWGKT0YbJYg
Live! with a piano and a Paul Simon solo performance

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/the+boxer_20124664.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am just a poor boy and my storys seldom told
Ive squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, hmmmm

When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Li la lie...

Asking only workmans wages, I come lookin for a job, but I get no offers
Just a comeon from the whores on 7th avenue
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Now the years are rolling by me, they are rockin even me
I am older than I once was, and younger than Ill be, thats not unusual
No it isnt strange, after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

Li la li...

And Im laying out my winter clothes, wishing I was gone, goin home
Where the new york city winters arent bleedin me, leadin me to go home

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains
Yes he still remains

[qwertyMike]

16. The X-ers

Didn't have war to go to and prove their stuff and become legless heroin addicts.

Instead they wore deck shoes and dockers and got MBA's

[PaddyBlueEyes]

18. I found my path

then I lost it again....

[qwertyMike]

19. I would say

anyone between 0 and 100 has identity issues

I HATE that word "issues"

[leeroysphitz]

20. So you have an issues "issue"?

:)

[qwertyMike]

22. Of course I have "issues"

Not too many now - I'm 62, retired, live alone and have 2 wonderful kids.
My only 'issue' now is if I should get a cat.
See other thread in DU

Once you hit 60 you can throw all the issues out the window and start giving instead of taking.
And you can wear funny clothes :)


Mike

[leeroysphitz]

24. If you are trying to tell me that you, a father of two spent 60 years only taking.

I don't believe you.

29 years? Maybe, but only if your kids are 30 and 31 years old... :)

[qwertyMike]

26. I started late

My daughter (21) was born in 1986 and my son (19) was born 1988.
I was born 1945.

Takes a while to get the hang of it.

[leeroysphitz]

27. I hear you. My son was born Three years ago. Until then what the hell did

I know about Carree or responsibilities or sacrifice?

Anyhoo. Enjoy your freedom. Age is wasted on the old as they say. :)

[qwertyMike]

28. I gave

a lot - Adult Ed., Adult Literacy, Day Care Board, Seniors Housing Board, etc.

I live in a civilized country called Canada

[leeroysphitz]

30. I may have led you to mis- understand my reply.

I meant that, as a father, I found it improbable that you "took" for 60 years since it becomes impossible for most men NOT to become "givers" upon the birth of their child...

It's a happy, complimentary, PRO-FATHER statement and I stand firmly behind it. :)

[qwertyMike]

35. Thank You

No harm - no foul.

And WHAT does your semitic sig say?

[Breeze54]

32. Yeah... like that ONLY happens in "civilized" Canada... give me a break!

:eyes:

[leeroysphitz]

34. Hey Breeze thanks but the next time you feel like "helping"

please DON"T. :) Maybe you'd feel a little more comfortable in GD?

[Breeze54]

37. Hey leeroyshits... maybe you'd be better off in the Psycho forum?

:shrug:

BYTE ME! :hi:

[qwertyMike]

29. What does that Semitic script

on our sig line say?

[leeroysphitz]

31. The script in "our" sig line is...

a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce.

[InkAddict]

61. I can read that -- behave or I'll spill the beans. eom

[leeroysphitz]

65. Blackmail?

Name your price!

[tammywammy]

23. I'm 27, but I feel I've found my sense of direction

I've moved into the adult world and bought a home. I was recently promoted at work, and I really love my new job. I'm very happy with the boyfriend. Over all, I'm very content with how things are going.

[CreekDog]

33. What?! I know who I am.

It's baby boomers who are always reinventing themselves and/or looking for themselves.

I know who I am, maybe not what I'm doing, but definetely who I am. We don't ask such questions -except possibly when stoned which doesn't count.

[Indi Guy]

38. I'm an original Hippy...

GenXers have been labeled with the same kind of ignorant RW crap that my generation faced.

Unfortunately for you GenXers -- you didn't have something like the Vietnam War & the draft (tangible embodiments of our flawed socio-political value system) to cut your teeth on.

That was then. Now we have a new Vietnam in the Mideast, but no draft. No draft -- no large scale sense of urgency to end the shameful actions of our nation. No tipping point yet.

[Breeze54]

39. What's the war ON Iraq then? A fairy tale?

:shrug:

They owe... they will pay a price. It's already here....

[Indi Guy]

40. I'm not sure I understand your question... n/t

[Breeze54]

41. I didn't have a question.. I made a statement. - "They're paying now"

"Unfortunately for you GenXers -- you didn't have something like the Vietnam War"

:eyes:

Yeah... while many of them are being KILLED and conscripted to serve over and over in an illegal war...

Hell; maybe you're right. Maybe they just don't give a rat's ass. :(

But they're paying NOW with inflation and higher gas prices and less jobs available but

still I hear "The Sounds of Silence" and it's deafening... :grr:

[Indi Guy]

43. Thanks for clarifying (your headline did have 2 question marks btw). I agree with much...

...of what you said; But my intent was not to denigrate GenXers.

You made an excellent point about the "Stop Loss" policy (effectively a draft) that's chewing up our soldiers & their families.

The only problem is that our illegal government waging this illegal war has slickly figured out that a blatant draft of our young men is a recipe for failure. The GenXers would have been as actively defiant as my generation if the draft had not been abolished.

We're all paying for our lack of unity in scrutinizing this illegal government. Too many of us all preach to the choir from our keyboards, rather than make ourselves uncomfortable -- and actually hit the streets.

[Breeze54]

44. I have "hit the streets" many a time and I DO see young people but

not as many as there are the gray 'haireds'.... like I'm getting to be... of 'your' generation ;) (mine)

And I'm getting tired of marching and yelling and it's time for the younger one's to stand up and take a stand!

[Indi Guy]

45. Then maybe we should consider doing some things the old fashioned way...

When's the last time you saw an actual underground paper? This is something that people can feel, touch & ignore at their own risk (as long as it's written well).

[CreekDog]

50. yes, we did, we had Mutually Assured Destruction

every stupid "special report" up until 1985 quite possibly signaled the end of civilization.

[HEyHEY]

46. First off... it's way fucking harder these days

At least, where I live, to make a go of it. School costs more, housing is insanely expensive... you know. I work three jobs just to make an amount of money that would be equal to a decent wage my folks made at my age... slackers? Fuck them. WE WORK HARD.

[Indi Guy]

49. ...And the Multinational Cooperations Have You Exactly Where They Want You...

Multiply yourself by millions!...

[Deja Q]

51. Or billions...

It depends on your point of view...

[Guava Jelly]

47. I am 41 and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

I need a SugarMama.

[TZ]

48. My life's not perfect but I do know my path to some extent

And I am smack in the middle of gen X at 38. I work hard but the label of "slacker" is indeed very common. My boss, a much older woman has been known to complain about how the younger generation of workers just don't have the same work ethic as older folk....
To her slackers are those who don't like working non-stop 9-10 hrs a day, and being available by cell phone for emergencies 24/7...
:banghead:

[Deja Q]

52. America has a culture? I thought all we ever did was shop...

Which reminds me, I need that new CD...

And since I like shopping, I'll do what it takes to continue doing so (legally). :)

[distantearlywarning]

53. I'm 33 and I definitely fit that description.

I feel like I've been in a permanent mid-life identity crisis since the age of 25. When I was working in the real world, I flitted from job to job because I wasn't satisfied. Now I've been back in school for the last 6 years and have no idea when I'll leave. I'm deliberately taking my time getting the degree because I don't want to leave the protective cocoon of grad school and make important permanent decisions about my life. In my life outside of school I think I still kind of live like an early 20-something, and my husband is the same way at almost 38, and both of us even look about 10 years younger than we are. It's like we can't figure out how to grow up on the inside and outside even though we have all the trappings of adulthood like jobs and a house and so forth.

I know some other Gen-Xers who are like this too...it very well might be a generational thing.

[SPKrazy]

55. You know, I am like the bottom of the boomers

and I don't feel like a boomer

i feel more like a lost sheep in that regard.

i have had trouble finding my path so to speak

and the rest

although i'm getting more cynical as time goes on that there is a "path", that instead you just do what is in front of you and do the best you can. If you don't like what's in front of you do something different.

[BarenakedLady]

56. I have no direction

I'm stuck in the mire, just trying to move in anyway.

[Ellen Forradalom]

57. I find that it involves a great deal of IGNORING

Ignoring pretense and narcissism is a conscious activity, one that takes focus and energy.

Once I accepted that I live in a world gone mad, I was able to look what I could use, and leave the rest.

Also, "direction" is totally overrated. If you're living a halfway honest life, staying off the front page and gossip sites, not starting wars, you're doing what most of humanity has done. You're doing fine.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

58. Things are different these days....

I doubt that many Gen-X'ers could have foreseen the rapid rise of technology, the dot.com boom (and bust), or how quickly the social and economic paradigms in this country would change from the time we were young. I cut my career and future vision teeth during the somewhat halcyon days of Clinton and I could never have guessed that the country would have done the economic/social/cultural 180° that it has. Heck, I remember my boomer parents telling me that as long as I got a college degree, I would stand a decent chance of being fairly successful. And in my folks day, that was very true.

Now things are very different. A college degree, for the most part, gets you a one-way ticket to wage-slavedom. Endless convenience gadgets that immediately scratch our consumer itch have lowered our tolerances to waiting for, and insisting on quality. RealityTV® has fostered a superficial, self-centered "oh no you didn't!" reaction to the world that hearkens back to the worst of the 80's, but without the good music. There are many days I find myself very ashamed of what our culture has become, and very frightened of where its going.

But maybe I'm just old.

[Deja Q]

59. I am inclined to agree.

Ironically, I was thinking of the same thing earlier this morning.

Not as much about Clinton as much as it's been about rapid technological enhancement.

The sad part is, those who make criticisms of the media are instantly ignored or mocked. Which only proves one thing and I'd rather not think about it for obvious reasons.

The media indeed does have an influence... but as a child, some of the crap being peddled I found insulting too. And how schools would allow concert t-shirts reading "Metal up your ass" complete with a very visual representation featuring a toilet and a dagger... That was 1987. At least some schools are finally putting in clothing regulations...

[InkAddict]

62. I'm a directionally-challenged old Boomer lost in the labyrinth

of life. Seriously, it's a family joke that I need a personal GPS just to get out of the mall or off the freeway at the correct exit. That said, with a few million others, we all headed out on a what has become a dead-end path and the crumbs we left behind have been eaten by REALLY OLD crows. The way through is the way out, they say, so break out the machetes! You GenXer's, since you didn't even have the decency to protect those crumbs from the OLD CROWS masquarading as endangered American eagles, just get a buddy and follow along in a nice orderly fashion, but watch your back because those Y's, Z's and unnamed clone hybrids are really dangerous.

Wanna go back, Jack.
Do it all over,
But I can't go back, I know.

[porphyrian]

64. I certainly don't know what the fuck I'm doing. -n/t

[liberaltrucker]

66. My "Boomer" advice to Gen Xers

Grow the fuck up!

:rofl:

And, do as I say, not as I do.
Hell, I'm 53 going on 18!

:hippie:

[carly denise pt deux]

67. I'm on the older end of the generation

I guess I still float along, haven't figured out what I wanna be when I grow up. :)

Carly

[Fox Mulder]

68. I fit that description and I'm only 25.