ExposedNYC

I’ve long been a believer in the phrase “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” (despite its provoking my grammatical angst) because we all live such different lives. Our society is simultaneously youth-oriented (hello, High School Musical, TRL, and Kid Nation), and yet constantly telling us that age doesn’t need to be a factor (“Fabulous at 40”, “Demi and Ashton”, etc.).

And I’m not sure if it’s because I moved to New York, home to devotees of chasing their dreams and perpetually refusing to settle down and “grow up”, or if it’s actually a generational trend, but we all seem to be hanging onto every last shred of our youth, while our kids grow up faster and faster. Pretty soon the generational gap will just become a sidewalk crack, which some kid listening to an iPod will eventually smush a wad of chewed gum into and obliterate completely.

And what scares me about that last sentence is that it makes me sound old. I could easily be that kid- I constantly walk down the street with my iPod blaring- so why do I feel the need to categorize? I recently went out to a bar with a friend who decided that he was celebrating his “twenty-eleventh” birthday, which deserved a night of drinking to rival the decade-before celebration. I immediately imagined following in those same woozy footsteps in a few years. I’m just as guilty as anyone I know (if not more) of refusing to become a grown-up.

Are we embracing our generation’s new found freedom, or just shirking mature responsibility? Are we really evolving towards a society of Paris Hiltons and Matthew McConaghey’s Dazed and Confused dufus? Or am I zeroing in on negative examples and overreacting?

I’ve decided to fall somewhere into the category of “In-be-ture”, my own combination of “In-between” and “Immature”. I’m using this to describe my confusion at, depending on which newspaper article I read, being labeled both Generation X and Generation Y. It’s the way I felt when, because of my birthday, I was older than kids a grade above me but still somehow still found a reason to look up to them. It’s the reason why on a Wednesday night I’m drawn to watching both Gossip Girl’s relationship drama and Private Practice’s fertility issues.

I’d love to hear other opinions. What is it that defines a grown up?

Share This