When I was in my twenties in the 1980's, life was on more of a preset pattern. The post war social order was very much in place and we didn't ask as many questions about what to do.
The presumption was that you would follow the tried and true model of your parents. You would finish school, get married and have kids. Society was set up to follow a template that most people could adopt even if the results ultimately varied.
These rules weren't just about what to do but also about who you could be.
Fast forward to today and my children at the same age I was then, have no such template. They ask themselves questions regarding their future and see no definitive path to follow because each option has so much more uncertainty.
There is both good and bad here because while not having a mold adds confusion, it also liberates you from the societal pressure to conform. People are less prone to ask you why you aren't following the rules.
Today, we are reimagining what the new social order will be and I think it will favor people with more tolerance for uncertainty and able to be more uniquely themselves. They are more apt to find their authenticity outside the sheep's pen.
Nothing wrong with that.
I was reminded of a line spoken by Jeff Goldbloom's character on "Law and Order" while reading your post from yesterday. It is also appropriate for this post, I believe. To paraphrase the line, we spend our lives searching for who we really are, only to find, sometimes, it's not who we want to be.
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't mean we have to accept it, though. Transitioning, whether it be gender or anything else in life, is a life-long pursuit. I know that I have both a need and a want to keep on moving on. ;)
Understanding ourselves fully is a lifelong pursuit not only because we are so intricate and complex but because we are filled with propaganda from the outset as to who that person is supposed to be rather than allow us the exploration
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