Douglas Coupland is a genius. And I start with this statement, because without this American author, we would not be able to understand in detail the cultural, sociological, technological and economic aspects that give way to human evolution? Or to put it much more simply, this is the author of the book "Generation X". A book that explains a large part of the existentialist longings that today, as a representative of the Millennial generation that I am, I have also had to endure; which has not been easy... And I make this synthesis, because it goes hand in hand with what I am going to show you in this post. A very short story that explains a day that is different from the rest of the rest of the work week...
I grew up with the following values: study, find a good job, buy a house and have kids.... Evidently, many people will agree with these premises; even, many will find them logical and even expected... The problem? The problem is that life is not cyclical or linear. In other words, what worked 20 years in the past doesn't have to work in my present. Curious, because many people, including myself, would think that the expectations that worked well in other moments of Humanity, would be linked to the economic factor.
But this "theory" has easily been proven wrong. Japan, Germany, the Netherlands; even South Korea and the United Kingdom, are nations with a good life expectancy, and where their population has not stopped aging for decades. There are many reasons to explain this phenomenon, multicausal; without a doubt... My life has many of these particularities. Due to my location and life decisions, I have had to work hard since I was young. I have been a mother since I was 22 years old, and now at almost 32, I have realized that life is an accumulation of nonsense?
Waking up at 6 o'clock in the morning, Monday to Saturday, to meet schedules, pay debt after debt, and if by some strange chance you have some money, time and energy left over, to be able to enjoy something? Obviously, this is a criticism as well as a confession about this way of living our unique existence. In less than 30 years, our mentality has totally changed. Today, the value of happiness, pleasure and enjoying life is something that was meaningless in 1970. Not because those people were not able to appreciate these nuances of existence, but because everything was more structured; less room for personal fulfillment.
Last Friday I decided to go for a walk from 4 o'clock in the afternoon until I arrived home completely tired and exhausted at night, because I honestly could not stand the dire, boring, gray and monotonous course of the last years of my life.... I started aimlessly and indulged in absolutely everything. That's why I decided to call these lines "Walkers". Because I included myself in that action. I didn't pay for a cab, I didn't use a motorcycle or cars. Walking, enjoying coffees in several small but comfortable places, and ending up having dinner in a bar with a pool table and kids playing, always with the company of several beers.
Honestly, I regret that this is not as common and spontaneous as I would like it to be. But the conditions I inherited from the previous generation, complicated things a lot. And no, I'm not saying that my generation is better than those before or after, but that each historical moment is something unique, and even unrepeatable. Even at the capitalist level. In the 80's the world was much simpler and richer than it is now. With much more demand for absolutely everything, but with less and less access to money in a decent way? Long live Fridays that break up the boring routine of work weekdays. Thanks for reading me on my debut in this niche.
