To all you gents out there in the 35 and under crowd I want to say: you risk too little, you quit too easy, and you complain too much. Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk, man-to-man.
I'm a Gen X-er and I never thought I'd see the day where I'd think of my generation as hard-working and heroic - we grew up in the shadow of the Greatest Generation who were still in the workforce when we were coming of age. That day has arrived.
To begin with, we all left home after high school and never returned. New-Waver, Punk Rocker, Heavy Metal-er, it didn't matter, going home to live with mom and dad was unmanly. I left home when I was 18 and wore many hats to ensure I never went back to live in my parent's basement: janitor at a gym, door-to-door salesman, auto paint deliveryman, U.S. Marine, security guard, and sign-painter just to name a few. In case you think economic times were good and we had it made, I lived in a one room ghetto apartment with a roommate and often had bologna sandwiches and tap water for meals for weeks on end. But lots of young guys I knew back then (1980's) did the same and we knew we had it better than those before us. Fellas, you need to take risks to get greater rewards but this often means understanding you're an inexperienced schlub who deserves nothing up-front. Don't waste your money on stupid tattoos, marijuana vape, and worthless piercings.
Next, men have traditionally set courses and followed them through to the end (sometimes not good ends). Decide what you're going to do and then do it. Having a plan and following it creates its own discipline. Getting married (I did at 23) forces you to grow up and follow through. Deciding on a good degree-program or vocational course and following it through to the end makes you into a better man. You'll probably change careers numerous times but a dogged flint-like focus on not quitting and going home is what men have been doing for ages. When I was in my twenties I was determined to find good work no matter where it took me. I didn't wait around for jobs to drop into my lap from employers who would surely recognize my amazing abilities but I was willing to move to other states, even other countries, to find good work. Do difficult things that you can't quit at. To this day I look back upon my experience in the Marine Corps as a source of motivation. Being without a shower for weeks and sitting in a foxhole on night guard duty while exhausted has the tendency to put present difficulties in proper perspective.
Finally, take responsibility for who you are and where you are. Be a man. God has put you in exactly to right place and right time. When you find your decision to do a degree in Gay Film Studies isn't getting you any job interviews, change course. Don't blame it on employers, the times, or the economic system. Blame yourself and then do something about it. Some of the best decisions I've made came after frightening or depressing realizations that I was on a dead-end course.
Look around you. We live in the nicest homes in history - maybe not if you decide you have to live in a minuscule apartment in New York City or a tiny house in Seattle. We eat the best food known to mankind to the point that we can negotiate and complain about freshness or source. We have much greater opportunities than our forebears did - they had to be content with being farmers or factory workers...period.
So, take a deep breath and act like men!
Shiiiieeeet!! he's got a point!
Posted by: Johnny | April 07, 2016 at 07:33 PM