Terms like “Baby-boomer” and “Generation
X” characterized people of the epochs before us.
We, on the other hand, remain an unclassifiable generation. And fittingly so, as it would be difficult to label a group that doesn’t represent anything in particular.
We can’t go about calling ourselves “lazy-boomers” or “aeon ambivalence.” Or maybe it is perhaps better that we own up to what we really are: the generation of complacency.
Not to offend you fellow YouTubers and business cohorts, but truth is, if you’re not out there trying to change the world, support a family, or embrace life as a minimalist to espouse thankless forms of creativity, then you are a victim of complacency.
For those of us who aren’t setting the example, we should consider our priorities now, while we still carry the advantages of time and youth.
As college students, we stand in a vulnerable stage in our lives where we must make important decisions.
We must make sure these decisions made now are those that will prepare us for the future.
It seems that the goal in life is to mold ourselves or our surroundings to be mutually accommodating to the other.
Life is ironic in that way, for everything we do is based on the need to be comfortable.
We need friends who are similar to us so we can feel comfortable in our skin. We seek to live in the most comfortable of situations so as not to strain ourselves.
And we vie for jobs that pay well to buy more comforts. In their own right, these are all valid points.
But when the value of discomfort becomes
non-existent, that’s when our perspectives
grow too narrow.
Think back and pinpoint a moment in your life that was responsible for helping
you develop compassion, awareness or maturity.
Then ask yourself – at any of these milestones, were you struggling, dreading,and overcoming forms of fear, sadness or pressure?
In other words, was it these discomforts
you felt which helped you become a better, more experienced individual?
If the answer is yes, congratulations. You are a real person. Most events in our lives that evoke positive changes in us usually come from times of suffering and struggle.
Discomfort is not a handicap – complacency
is.
And for many of us, college is a silk cushion that breeds this complacency. Nowadays, almost everything we do in this society is convenient (aside from some forms of democracy).
Everything is accessible, everything is done with speed and the goal behind any modern day invention is to continue the accessibility of convenience.
This is our generation.
Sure, we can defend ourselves by pointing out the jobs we work, the loans we pay and the asinine assignments we fastidiously
complete.
But those hardly constitute as real discomforts.
Even the act of finding a career these days doesn’t deserve the title of being called a hardship.
If anything, the pressure of finding a job is really just another stepping stone to the structures of complacency.
If aiming to work a generic or unrewarding
job from the hours of 9-to-5 for the rest of your life isn’t an act of complacency, then I don’t know what is.
I’m not saying we should all go out and live in holistic communes and develop a self-sustaining way of life.
I understand the value of both security
and comfort as integral parts of peace of mind.
But what I am encouraging is the appreciation of the time we have as a youthful generation.
Discomfort should be explored while we’re still young, so that as we grow older, we will have learned from our challenges in the past.
Otherwise, once you are too comfortable,
you lose your passion to gain knowledge
and compassion, as ignorance really is bliss.
So the next time you’re about to make your next move, ask yourself, ‘Is this the easy thing or the challenging thing to do?’
If you chose the latter, you’re guaranteed
enrichment in your life.
Eva Liao can be reached at
evaliao@temple.edu
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