An Ode To Youth And The Burden Of Ageing
Talking politics, careers and a quarter-life crisis.
There tends to be a certain pressure in growing older. As the years go by, there are expectations of stability and development that can’t always be fulfilled, especially in the modern age. With the constraints of the cost-of-living crisis alongside outstanding debt, there is little-to-no hope in “making it” the way our parents and their parents’ parents made it. Despite this, society still holds the overwhelming timeline above our heads.
The presumed timeline of a successful life follows on from higher education: pursue career, hop on the property ladder, embrace family life. However, under the rule of a conservative government, we face the constraints of becoming an adult under council that is unsupportive of junior generations. Many are finding it difficult to pursue higher education in order to kick off their life agenda due to rising tuition fees and falling teaching time. The concept of a “dream career” has also taken a hit as young adults find aspiration in affording basic necessities rather than passion.
As I recover from the debilitating blow of turning 22 — only a few years until I’m considered “mid-twenties” — I am dismantled with the weight of change. Having surpassed the ‘higher education’ stage of the life timeline, I am heading towards pursuing a career based on decisions made by my pre-pubescent self. My younger self was enamored with the idea of becoming a teacher, later deciding that I wanted to chase a more exciting, fulfilling life for myself … so here I am writing about being worried about my future (oh, the irony).
Although we crave security, stability is something we must substitute for creativity.
Hopping on the property ladder, for most of us today, is exchanged for renting due to astronomical housing costs. Moving away from parents and a long-term home takes away a guaranteed permanence and support system, leaving new adults in a solitary state. Staying in hometowns is favored as there is a higher sense of co-dependence in an area where everyone is already acquainted. Fear of the unknown shouldn’t stop the exploration of options.
Youth is familiarity. Childhood is running around the same playground, feeding the ducks at the same park. Adolescence is sniggering at the back of the same classes and repeatedly listening to the same song until your ears bleed. Adulthood is compacted of nostalgia but also growth. How lucky we are to age.
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