Generation Why

Welcome to my generation, generation Y. And that's exactly what we do, we are constantly asking the simple question, "Why?" Why is the sky blue? Why do I have to go to school? Why do we have to go to work everyday? Why do I have to spend my short life doing things that I don't want to do? Why am I on this planet?

Since I was a kid I've been told that I can be anything I want to be, I've also been told that if you do something you love, it doesn't feel like work. Well every job I've ever had feels very much like work and with a love for my own happiness and a lack of any kind of work integrity, I have left every one of them without a single glance in my rear-view mirror or regret.

In this age we have come to realize that we don't have to do anything, and that there are so many possibilities for how we can spend our time, where we can live, what we can be. And although I am incredibly thankful to be given options and opportunity, it is completely overwhelming. The roads are stretched out in front of me, the signs are very clear that each path leads to a very particular place, but I find myself sitting down and not going anywhere.

I think about my parents, and their parents, and that's about as far back as I can credibly go back, but I can't help but think that things were simpler back then. Easier, no, but simpler. Everyone knew their role and what was expected of them. As a woman, and yes a feminist, I can't help but think how simple my life would be if I only had one goal in life, one responsibility, one focus, that being my children. I wouldn't be questioning my purpose or existence, I wouldn't lie in bed till noon because I had no reason to wake up. I would have to get up, a tiny helpless being would need me, depend on me for every basic need.

But just because that would be simpler, would I be happy? Apparently people were not happy with the role they were given, because they fought very hard for more. Maybe I should stop being dramatically overwhelmed, and be excited that I can go anywhere and be anything my heart desires. Maybe I should just shut up and pick a path, and another one, and another one. Or maybe I should just sit here and quietly contemplate why I am alive.