Generation Y are we waiting?

I've noticed a trend in my friends and fellow peers - we're all just waiting. We're holding on to the carpe diem attitude - but it's for tomorrow. We are the most structured and imaginative generation to date. In terms of structure, we're reared to follow a path - school, college, job experience, money, balanced life, family. If someone veers off course they risk extreme disappointment or threat of missing one of these society-created grandiose milestones. And for women we worry about the timer we've self-imposed at each of the stations of life as if you stay too long you risk missing the next. Example: If a woman works hard,  she might make it to the "money" stage, but stay there basking in her dollars and career choices she forgoes a balanced life and family. May not be right - but it's what my ladies think.
For the imaginative - it's an effect of the MLK dream speech - we have a dream that one day BLANK... and you believe you can make it happen, but the drive and motivation to make it happen lacks in structure.
So you have a system of beliefs and beliefs without a system - and that's my generation.
This has resulted in a bunch of stressed and anxious individuals, a slump in cultural movement, we've been coined as the least active generation - generation y bother.
It's also created an ambitious group that has been told all their lives they can do and be whatever they want. Naturally, this creates a monster. We have lots of people thinking they are experts with two years experience and an untamed confidence that crashes when burned. Frankly, the only thing we are experts in is understand what we can be, but what does that do for everyone else who is living in the present? We're worried we won't make the right decision or we easily give in when different lines in the sand are drawn - but that's us and we'll run world some day soon, just not today but count on tomorrow.

"Our dreams are made out of real things" -Jack Johnson

 The movie Inception ... must see, but only if you plan on not sleeping for the next week! Christopher Nolan's take on the dream world is shocking and somewhat invasive (I won't spoil it for those who still need to see it). But it got me thinking about  the concept of your reality being a dream; and the inability to differentiate between what's real and what is a dream. I admit I am a person that dreams deeply; so when I do dream I often wake up disoriented or frazzled trying to dissect what was true and what was part of the dream.

Anyway ... think about it - our world, our beliefs or thoughts of our lives are all hyperbolic or idyllic translations of a truth; and if we define our world off these truths then what becomes of our reality?

Then there is this idea of following your dreams, making them a reality and again the transition from dream to reality becomes fuzzy. If you are chasing a dream ... and even catch it, when did you stop dreaming and start living? I mentioned this when I first started writing to you, my dear readers: I remember dreaming of living in New York, working, playing in the city and enjoying life; but I can't put my finger on when I exactly stopped dreaming. There are some pieces of the dream that are still waiting to be fulfilled and some (like my apt in the heights) that were not in the dream at all.  It's all very interesting ...

But let's not give Christopher Nolan all the credit for visualizing this concept. Anyone else out there remember, Shakespeare? A Midsummer Night's Dream, the epilogue to the audience: 

"If we shadows have offended, 

think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear;
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream..."

Again, another example of a creative mind developing a "scripted reality" from layers of the same dream.

So after all this, here are my thoughts:  Your life is a series of captured "dreams". They lose their element because they are captured and forced into being real life. This is why you sometimes need to get away, take time to let your mind relax, wander and get back to a place that feels like the truth; and back to the dream you were chasing. Because real dreams (oxymoron, i know) are things you will always chase because they can't be captured and placed into social norms or cookie cutter images of life. Bottom line, my dear readers, let your dreams live in their own world and catch up to them only to remember what your truth really can be.

Four Roommates and a cat

It is very odd how fast life passes by you. I remember complaining to my Dad about his infamous "you cannot wear shorts if it's below 68 degrees at 7:00AM." (Mind you, I grew up in Ohio, which means it was NEVER above 68 degrees in the morning. I was typically the ONLY person at school wearing a coat, hat and jeans in June). And now I complain about my toilet overflowing for the nineteenth time in two weeks. Meaning I've been through 2 mops, one pair of shoes, endless taunts from an annoyed boyfriend, and a curious old cat that thinks my bathroom has turned into a giant water bowl. At least in the past I had 2 sisters to complain to about Dad's rule, now I can't even get my super to answer his phone -- let alone his door.

We also had a plan to circumvent my Dad's rule, that's right; we packed shorts in our back packs and changed at school.

My toilet still overflows...

But hey, I'm living my dream in NYC with my cat (the four roommates, were never in my actual dream, but they each add a little something to my life). It wasn't easy getting here, I left lots of things from my old apartment to a dear true friend, who I will always refer to as 'my roommate'. Note to reader: we actually do not live together she is busy learning to save lives at med school in Virginia. Anyway, I sought to pack everything I could fit in my two door Beetle, with my cat in the front seat.

But that was just part of my journey here. I'm not going to spend my blog telling you about my past; I don't need to fill you in on the past, there are other things MORE EXCITING things that are happening now.

*That has to be true, isn't that why people have blogs? Otherwise, you just have an entire blogosphere filled with stream of consciousness writing.

I'm hoping to evoke something a little different. I can't guarantee I'll always entertain (or be witty) but I'll tell a story and get to a point; maybe if you are feeling really inspired, a moral. Happy following dear readers! I look forward giving you more entries!