(no subject)
I wrote a letter to my friend Robin few months ago about our generation. She had recently told me all about her plans to become a Waldorf school teacher, working in after school programs in the meantime. Here is an excerpt.
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It's so cool watching people my age take a grip on their lives and really figure what they want out of it. Watching the guys who lived across the street in our last house, they were late 20s early 30s and they were school teachers, but they had big drunken beer pong parties. They always sounded like teenagers whenever I overheard their conversations. Our generation is struggling with this period between school and true adulthood. We don't know what to do, so we just extend adolescence. But some people, I'm happy to say, take the freedom of their youth and use to make bold choices. Traveling, school, Peace Corps and Americorps, broadening themselves as human beings and discovering what they can put into our world. Because we can make a difference, a little at a time, each in our way. I think the leaders of our generation are already quietly chipping away at stagnant pieces of our world. We will not give in to the listless adolescence, or the feeling of political powerlessness that looms over us. We pick our battles carefully, while crafting lives for ourselves that mean more than just a paycheck.
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I realized today that President-Elect Obama was a part of this movement for me. I think that active part of my generation had given up on broad political change. I was recently asked in a poll which past president I hoped the next president of the United States would most resemble. But I had none. My answer was Jed Bartlett, president on West Wing. I couldn't think of a past president who I really liked. I understand that Obama is human, and I'm sure he will disappoint me at some point during his term, but I no longer feel powerless, like I did when I voted 4 years ago. It is exciting to feel that my government does count my vote.
Dear President-Elect Obama,
You've made a lot of promises during this election, perhaps the most dangerous one being "hope." You can't make everyone happy all of the time. But I'm happy today and that's a good start. For the first time I, and I'm sure others of my generation as well, feel hope for my government. I feel that my taking a stand might mean something. I feel empowered.
PS Please don't get a pet store puppy. Puppy mills are cruel.
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It's so cool watching people my age take a grip on their lives and really figure what they want out of it. Watching the guys who lived across the street in our last house, they were late 20s early 30s and they were school teachers, but they had big drunken beer pong parties. They always sounded like teenagers whenever I overheard their conversations. Our generation is struggling with this period between school and true adulthood. We don't know what to do, so we just extend adolescence. But some people, I'm happy to say, take the freedom of their youth and use to make bold choices. Traveling, school, Peace Corps and Americorps, broadening themselves as human beings and discovering what they can put into our world. Because we can make a difference, a little at a time, each in our way. I think the leaders of our generation are already quietly chipping away at stagnant pieces of our world. We will not give in to the listless adolescence, or the feeling of political powerlessness that looms over us. We pick our battles carefully, while crafting lives for ourselves that mean more than just a paycheck.
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I realized today that President-Elect Obama was a part of this movement for me. I think that active part of my generation had given up on broad political change. I was recently asked in a poll which past president I hoped the next president of the United States would most resemble. But I had none. My answer was Jed Bartlett, president on West Wing. I couldn't think of a past president who I really liked. I understand that Obama is human, and I'm sure he will disappoint me at some point during his term, but I no longer feel powerless, like I did when I voted 4 years ago. It is exciting to feel that my government does count my vote.
Dear President-Elect Obama,
You've made a lot of promises during this election, perhaps the most dangerous one being "hope." You can't make everyone happy all of the time. But I'm happy today and that's a good start. For the first time I, and I'm sure others of my generation as well, feel hope for my government. I feel that my taking a stand might mean something. I feel empowered.
PS Please don't get a pet store puppy. Puppy mills are cruel.