Old People Think We Stupid :/

    "You're just a baby!" I've come to realize that I  have heard this phrase more than when I was actually a baby. It seems that I have finally reached the age of adulthood. No longer am I sucking my thumb, looking up for help. Or better yet, letting my parents pay for everything. Well, kind of, in truth I am not a person sitting upon my throne of regrets missing my childhood and resenting adulthood, at least not all the time. I find, as I navigate my life and the consequences of issues faced when not taking responsibility for like a maxed out credit card, and all those visits to the grocery store for organic chips. I mean, what is organic anyway? I just pretend to act like I know for the fun of it. And see!!! That's what it means to be grown, to get excited that you can eat overpriced chips, while also complaining the next aisle over, that they don't have their usual (two for one) on some pop tarts. This isn't all bad in the grand scheme of things.

    But enough babbling about the journey of food hunting in this inflation filled society. I want to bring light to an epiphany. Something that came out of nowhere if you will, people think 20-year-olds are stupid as hell. And I don't mean that teenage girl, Taylor Swift, (she shake it like jelly), faking mental illness stupid. No, I mean something more insidious that it affects every aspect of your life if you think about it too much. I, like many, a time ago was a teenager that always feared yet anticipated growing up. It was such a romanticized idea that I just couldn't wait for my middle school ass to have a mortgage. Well, um, not....not like that. I just saw that everyone else wanted to be grown, and so like a kid I followed behind. Then I was a teenager, and I was told by all the students in college, "enjoy it while it lasts!!!" I, like many 18-year-olds, just laughed out of annoyance. And then I went to college, as a freshman. And this indie movie, coming of age film that was my new and approved adulthood, was in 2019. Yeah, I don't know when you are reading this, but now it is 2023 as I am typing this. I am currently 22 years old, and I don't know what the hell just happened. One minute I am excited to get lunch in the college cafeteria, the next minute I am shocked to see that one girl who used to eat erasers just because, pregnant with twins, as her man is searching for the bread....in the sauce isle. What am I getting at? I don't know man, I am just shook that I am at the age where I genuinely have to have my shit together. And even more shocked at the response to this transition.

I was looking online, as one does in our digital age. And I just so happened to see a post about something stupid, so you know it's a good day. And then I saw this!!!

    Now this is an analysis of Doja Cat from YouTuber Salem Tovar. Now, ignore the time signature and the empty battery life, we have more important things to talk about. This comment ate for me. In the end, I looked back at this post like wait a minute, you're right. I often see a lot of dumb shit from people in my age range. I mean honestly, the most unhinged debates over nothing. The regurgitated talking points on lord knows what. And as we act like dodo birds, we also have solidified this idea that you are supposed to respect your elder because......you know, they're old. And that is a great thing to know that, but um, "People are gonna die"-(Voiced by Vanessa Hudgens). No, seriously, there is the need for respecting those who have been here for a long time. However, there are moments where my generation gets tired of the ignorance, and the outdated statements that don't attempt to reflect the times of today. Back in my day, has been used too many times as a disregarding tactic to shut down any room for a nuanced conversation between generations. No one wants to be told they are stupid, and incapable, while also being reminded just how much is required of them as a grown up.  

    I always thought that once you are past the age of 20, that this solidifies you as an adult. The closer you get to that middle mark of 25, there is no going back to the child you were. And in all honestly, this is not really true. Yes, you can't expect the world to fall at your fingertips and have everything given to you. But some understand this as children. Some weren't lucky to have a childhood at all. So maybe they see adulthood as something they always looked forward to. Or perhaps they digress into acting out ideas of youth that, in all honesty, can put them on the watch list if it goes too far. There are many ways we compartmentalize aspects of ourselves to become what we (think) is who we are supposed to be. And that is okay, until you attempt to do that, and people tell you that it's a waste of time. Of course, a 16-year-old would see me as grown, but a 44-year-old would see me as a baby. Different stages in life, offer different perspectives. And I am aware that the phrase"You're just a baby' is a saying to remark upon the fresh entrance into what we call (adulthood). However, I still have a frustration with this statement for so many reasons.

    I am supposed to vote, I am supposed to have a nice house in the suburbs, with a white picket fence on the highest fucking hill in the sky. I am supposed to have a six-figure job, and I am supposed to have endless drive to work. I am supposed to have the nicest car, go on the most expensive vacations and then some. I am supposed to have a family, and what else am I supposed to have!?! A degree, a piece of paper that helps me meet the bare minimum requirement to get a notable job. And all while those who turned 20 something in a pandemic, while we struggle with inflation, rise in housing, drastic heights in mental health issues, and the pressure of social status, do you want to know what some old people think? We are too soft, and we don't know shit anyway. I mean Jesus Christ, not to be too dramatic, but this all seems like too much. And with the ticking of the clock reminding us 20 something's that time is running out. You won't be the baddest on the block for long because there will always be another (younger) option. It's strange, I find that with all that talk about growing up, you get told you're really not that grown at all. But also, have everything figured out right now! But, it's okay if you don't we get it. That image, or at least the desire for that image, conflates with the need for stagnation, silence. To just have a moment to just sit and reflect, and then we can continue our journey to our responsibilities and bittersweet endeavors. But no, time does not stop for anyone.

    And the perspective is, we will always have to fight against the allegations that the ones who are supposed to change the world, are also made of the most emotional, illogical creatures, known as 20-year-olds. That this newfound admission to club 20, comes with terms and agreements. The fine text implies you are obligated to be insulted as a dummy with lost hope because some old people resent you for what you have. Like how in some moments I can recall at my big age, this weird random urge to go back to a simpler time, where my only problem was what I was going to eat during my lunch period. God-damn it, it always goes back to lunch!...... I see that some older people long for the days when they weren't as wrinkly, and they had more to them. A naivety, if you will, that brings a sweet bliss. And that is understandable, really. It's just unfortunate that their resentment creates ignorant people who gave up a long time ago on everything and everyone. In the end, yes, 20-year-olds are just starting out, and a forty-year-old may know more than them. But we can't think of the upcoming youth as stupid, if we do, we have learned nothing in changing the outcomes of this country. And more importantly, we also have idealized youth to such unbearable lengths, we forget the beauty of aging. Especially, when some people don't get to grow old at all.