My Age - Julia Burns

Sometimes my generation disappoints me- mostly when they ignore the important things, or at least the important things as I’ve found them. Which, I know, my beliefs shouldn’t entrap others, but I still feel like sometimes whatever we are ignoring is a universal “important thing”. Like taking advantage of the education that’s provided for us. That makes me sound like an old person, I know, but beliefs are shaped by experience, I think, and mine have made me into an old person. It’s also the fact that I once went to a school that doesn’t make available the opportunities that we have now, and as Joni Mitchell once crooned “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”. We’re also so desensitized to everything: not just bad things, like war or famine, but also to good things. It’s as if we think we’re too cool to get excited; everything has to be brushed off. We do something really amazing that we’ve been striving for, and it’s always like “Yeah. That’s pretty cool.” Get excited! It’s important to live the joy that we’re feeling- what else is going to make us so happy? Which makes me sound like a young person… so, I guess I’m middle aged?