a fast forward generation

It is obvious to all that our generation knows more about the up and coming than the previous generations. The rising technology, the ability to access a never ending source of data, sharing or receiving information, the media, etc. It's so easy these days to find out something because information is so open to the public.

The young know more and live more, going back to the conversation we had in class of 20 vs. 45. I think our 20's are our grandparents' 45's (probably not so much as our parents'). I hear constantly from my grandparents of how things weren't like this in the old days. How school wasn't as lenient, how relationships had to wait and curfews a lot stricter than what it is now. They would tell me about how conservative people were back then and how much friendlier neighbors were as well. I throw on a skirt a little above my knees and they have a fit.

I believe there's even a difference between my generation and younger generations. My friends and I would return from school during our breaks and head over to our usual go to spot in Starbucks on the now flourishing Austin St. of Forest Hills. We would catch up and suddenly see girls who are clearly 12, still in their braces wearing heavy make up, a skirt that is way too short even for hitting up clubs, a shirt way too tight, shoes with height they don't need yet, and an aura of perfume staining their every move. What are they trying to show? They haven't hit puberty yet and who are they trying to impress already? My friends and I would then reminisce on how dorky and naive we were back when we were their age. Even a couple years difference and already there are changes.

Although it is amazing how quickly we advance as human beings, it's also pretty scary how quickly things change and how much earlier kids start about being adults. In fact, I read an entry in a Time's magazine either a month or two months ago on organic vs. local food that gave a brief study of how the steroids and chemicals injected into fruits to make them bigger and also in milk are being absorbed by us, the consumers. So you see kids hitting puberty faster than before and growing taller and bigger than before. My grandparents and my parents are always exclaiming how people weren't this big just "a couple" of years ago.

Earlier and earlier we see kids even young adults my age chasing after the mature, successful, got everything planned out kind of appearance and lifestyle. But once you get there, after a few years its all reversed and you begin another chase, but backwards, back to the youth you ran from to get to where you are now. I'm a very live for the day kind of girl, not saying I don't plan for the future, but instead make something out of the time you've been given. I still enjoy a good novel on rainy days something I'd like to point out is very disappointing, how less and less people leisurely read. "Why read the book when there's a movie out on it." Pish posh because it is NOT THE SAME! People are also becoming lazier and lazier these days. But back to the topic of living, sometimes spontaneity is a good thing.