Lessons from a Gen-Xer
Do you think you know a lot about Gen Xer’s?
Here’s the 411.
We were the originals at text shorthand before cell phones were available to anyone other than the military. We signed almost all the notes we passed in class with one of these:
K.I.T
T.T.Y.L
L.Y.L.A.S
Generation X is the demographic force of nature born between the mid-1960s and early 1980s. My generation experienced such a shift in cultural, economic, and technological changes. These shaped (or warped) our personalities, work ethics, and values.
If you know someone from this generation, they likely have some traits in common that make me…I mean us… seem like mythical creatures that can do anything they set their mind to - especially the Gen X women.
To be fair, many, many of us got mixed messages about what we could do and how we could do it. But once our eyes were open, there was no turning back to the June Cleaver lifestyle.
Independence is our middle name!
We are known for our independence and self-reliance. Many of us grew up with working mothers and were raised to help take on the housework, pushed to get good grades so we could do whatever we wanted when we were a mom, and in the summer we were told to get outside and not come home til the streetlights were on.
To say we were parented differently is an understatement. We drank out of water hoses, seat belts were more of a vague suggestion, and if someone picked up the landline…there went our connection to the internet. Punishments included being grounded, being sent to our room without dinner, picking out our own switch before it “tanned our hides,’ and having our bike taken away for a week.
This independence birthed pragmatism.
Most of us have a practical and realistic approach to life- work hard and play hard. Our focus is on achieving our (sometimes audacious goals as you will soon see) and making practical decisions to benefit ourselves and our families, all while not taking life too seriously.
We would flippantly make up new words and phrases that could be hard for the square of yesteryear to follow. To name a few good movies of the time would be hard but Bill and Ted totally spoke our language dudes.
No one comes before our family.
Don’t get me wrong, our independence did not deplete our deep commitment to our families. Many of us are working mamas (and dads) that prioritize our families all day and pursue our careers and goal in the off hours. That might be why we have such caffeine addictions…getting up before the kids or our day job to get things done and staying up late to build our dreams. We’ll sleep when we are dead!
Open-mindedness and willingness to challenge traditional gender roles and societal norms?
Just another part of our day. More than half the women I know are advocates for social justice and equality in some area or another. While I’m not into violent protests, I understand the passion and fire that is felt in a time of great injustice. Everyone is someone’s child and deserves to be treated respectfully.
I’m not an in your face, megaphone blasting, marching in protest ally, but I do my best to include and support people every day. Without fail, if there is one person I talk to every day, it’s the person most people overlook. The cleaning staff in an office, the person handing you food at the drive-through, the person that “looks different” and is likely ignored by judgemental people that live in my area.
Ultimate thrifters are us!
We can find a bargain at a thrift store faster than you can say "Macklemore." Growing up outside, we had to be resourceful and get our money’s worth. It was nothing to us to hit up the vending machines at the fire station down the street after we pooled the money we collected from the streets, the station wagon cup holder, and our allowance. Our goal was to feed whoever was there with what we had…and we always did.
This way of thinking combined with technological advances and the boom of entrepreneurship created a whole new way of life than we had seen before. We became a driving force for change and a new spin on the American Dream.
The things to remember for this week about Gen X are:
Independence is huge for us and self-reliance is as common as saying dude for us.
We are pragmatic in our approach to just about everything in our life.
Independence does not mean we put our family last. Many of us are working mothers who prioritize our families and also pursue our careers.
Open-mindedness and challenging traditional gender roles and societal norms are what we live for.
Problem-solving often leads to thrifty behavior. We know how to find a bargain and bootstrap a project like nobody’s business.
I had so much to say about this topic, next week you’ll see Lessons from a Gen-Xer, Part 2.
Come back next week to see how we used these traits to work for us.
TTYL and LYLAS,
Teresea
Photo credit: Unsplash; IMDB
