I’m about to turn 30 in the coming weeks which marks a milestone for me and my peers. I’m rather boring when you get to know me because I don’t care much for trends and pop culture. I keep busy with my work and spend my free time working on projects. I have a lovely partner and a cat.
Yet, within the decade I’m about to finish I’ve gone through quite a bit that matches the typical experiences of young folk while falling into the troubles I’ve seen my parents and grandparents face.
I’m beginning to believe when they say, “as adults, nobody knows what they’re doing, they’re just pretending”. We’re all facing these same issues yet tend to think our experience is unique.
What am I getting at?
Distancing Friendships
Who would believe that one day your best friends growing up would no longer be a major part of your life? We outgrow one another and that’s okay. People move on to new experiences for many reasons whether it’s where a job takes them or if they head off with a significant other.
It’s a little depressing realizing that friendship is no longer there but it’s not the end of the world because we can make new friends.
We can find relatable people at:
· Our work
· Clubs
· Meetups
· Business ventures
These people compliment our new lifestyle and lift us from these issues of feeling isolated and alone.
Partying Becoming Binging
Those wild parties that gave you so many great stories are now becoming cringeworthy memories.
Not only that but your adult mind is now thinking:
· All that money you spent
· All them rough hangovers
· All those people you agitated
You never thought that partying would turn into binging, where you’re becoming a functioning alcoholic and/or have a dark past riddled with drug abuse. You’re older and understand you can have a good time without drugs but it’s still an issue because of the temptation. The idea of a detox treatment runs through your mind and starts to sound like the next logical step.
Having to change where you go and who you hang out with cycles us back to this feeling of losing friendships and isolation. We cope by finding a new addiction – something positive we can get behind to challenge ourselves and find new social circles.
Political Fracturing
It’s tough to tell whether people truly do become more conservative with age but it does seem that you start to buckle down on your beliefs – especially when it comes to politics.
The energy is dwindling plus there’s more on the line (family, finances, freedom). The more you glimpse the world the more you tend to hold onto what you have over the fear of feeling overwhelmed.
The issue is that many find themselves in an echo chamber of political ideology. They look for verification from their same kind versus entertaining broad ideas. This creates a fracture between friends, family, coworkers, and community. You make decisions that are knowingly detrimental to people close to you.
We cope through education – following a wide selection of news, pundits, and sources. We strive to participate in discussions and dialog. We follow the youth and hold onto the strings of culture.
My Suggestion: Ride it Out
Like I began with: we’re all in this together and it’s doubtful anyone truly knows what they’re doing.
We all face similar issues so don’t get anxious and remove yourself from society. Connect with others and work together to cope. We’ve got one attempt at this life experience and it sure isn’t worth doing it behind the mental barriers we place upon ourselves.
