Thursday, December 30, 2010

What is happening with Gen Y (or just What is going on these days?)



Yesterday I wanted to see Paula Abdul s Straight Up music video.



I love the tap dancing sequence in the intro (always feel like taking tap dance lessons when I see it), the black and white, the words Let Me Tell You, the black people and cello and Paula s wispy hair, I just love this video. I was born in 1981 so I think I have got a healthy dose of the 80s and 90s. So I went on YouTube to look for it but this video (right below) caught my eye and then I got all distracted.



Its a good video, definitely gives me ideas and "glambition" to grow my hair more just to try out the braided top knot bun. What got me intrigued though is the number of views - 478,608! That is a lot which led me to find out more about JuicyStar07 Blair Fowler and her sister Elle Fowler. Just to give an idea of how influential these two beauties are (age 17 and 21 respectively, or there about because that is just what I gather) - 24 hours after they mentioned a certain watch they got (I believe it was a white GUESS watch with some crystal things around the dial) it got sold out in every color and the store website crashed. Which led me thinking about how powerful this next generation is and could be, and of course the impact on my kids and what kinds of things they will grow up to think about or rather get obsessed about. There are so many things to get into because most everything I know are developed so well or already established. It is good and I suppose sometimes overwhelming because you feel like there isn't room to make your way. But we must always remind ourselves to think positively and not dwell on the negative. Negativity could lead to bitterness and envy which really doesn't make sense because if you are so busy being envious and bitter you are not doing what will help you be more happy, which is to really think about what you enjoy doing in life, what are your talents and interest? Believe me, it takes a lot of thinking to try and figure that one out, and when you do you will be too busy doing what really makes you happy to care about anything else. This is my goal to be positive every time I catch myself thinking negatively.

Anyhow, after learning about Elle and Blair Fowler it got me thinking about Tavi Gevinson, who I had mentioned before, and I searched her on YouTube because I haven't done that yet, just Googled her after seeing her picture in Canadian Elle magazine (I mean when I saw her picture it was seriously the first time I had seen a 13 year old in a magazine as some kind of contributor I didn't know who she is at the time). So I found this YouTube video



I think she did a pretty good presentation and I think it must be so fun to have the opportunity (whatever age you are but especially when you are what? only 13? 15? years old) present your ideas to a room full of people - adults! - who are there to listen to you intently. Indeed it is so true about what Tavi said how things are moving so super fast because I am reading this book


and it also says near the end (I am near finishing) how things are moving super fast nowadays and how we human beings need to be more than ever be able to give all that we have got to make our way and contribute in this world to come. I would also like to mention that Hubby and I are at the tail end of lots renting and watching movies from the Christmas + New Year's off work period and we watched Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps and one of the banker characters was saying that the economic crash is like the 1930s except it will happen super fast within a week. Which is a pretty scary thing. But there must be a positive side too right?

So all this led me (a 29 year old mother of two) to want to say on my blog (because blogging is really such an amazing tool for anyone to say anything so possibly anybody can have access to) is that thinking about my kids, and the teenagers of today I can see how probably from centuries old, parents have wondered whatever is in the heads of their kids. It is sort of a mystery and source of anxiety for us parents.

I think this next presentation by Tavi (below) has a whole lot of substance and fills in a lot of questions we parents would like to have answers to.



It is a relief to know that

1. Teenage angst of finding themselves is not a scary thing
2. An idea of what is going on in the teenage world since there is SO much going on these days
3. Young people today have so much access to information and therefore freedom make their dreams a reality and it is not a bad thing
4. (This might not be part of Tavi's presentation but it is my own conclusion) We "older" folks have the same access/ability (refer to #3) although of course we do have less of it in a way because we have more obligations (change our babies diapers etc.) and less energy and time but hey, I mean it is still there for us to take.

In a way this had been sort of my latest obsession, whatever the heck is going on in the world these days, especially in the heads of young people because they are the future right? And I feel I had gathered info here for me to feel OK about it for now until when I need some update again.

Lastly I just want to say to those of us that feel "older" that actually we shouldn't feel that way because life spans are longer and 40 is the new 20 and 50 is the new 30. Believe me The Element book says so too. Happy New Year!