Being in your 20’s is such a crucial stage in one’s life. At the peak of our life energy and sexuality, we have reached the level of independence where we can make conscious choices that will affect the rest of our lives. The 20’s are the age of change, not only for us as individuals but also for an entire generation. We find our own mind-structures not yet fixed and can see ourselves reflecting upon older generations and what we might do differently.
However, I ask myself, have I ever felt as if I was part of a generation as a whole? Let alone a generation that stands for anything… And here I find myself voiceless; unable to grasp any trustworthy interior structures the boomers and their echoes left me.
I’m convinced our potential to ‘think’ as a generation is present but it’s not easy in a culture that places so much value on the individual. One thing that struck me the most while sitting in the group dialogue with my Dutch Gen Y peers is that we tend to confuse a strong sense of idealism with the amount of personal connection we have with it. This fallacy leads to young people strongly defending their personal ideals without any larger context, separating themselves from each other even more.
Clearly not many, but a minority of Y’s think of idealism as being able to think beyond one’s self. They express the importance of believing it’s possible to change things for the better, to come together and unite our ideals for a greater cause! Of course these are but faint whispers in a clamor of narcissism but it gives hope to see Gen Y waking up from the individualistic nightmare. To stand strong, together and open to a larger perspective that will unite our generation, and be able to carry the responsibility that lies ahead of us.