Tuesday, 6 October 2009

Youngsters Today

This is a rant I free wrote recently entitled

A Batch of Bespoke Identical Individuals

You think you know, that you've pretty much arrived somewhere great and this is the way things will stay. Everyone else looks old, you'll never be like that. You'll never get bored of the things that amuse you and your friends? And your friends? They'll be with you forever. You've got your best man and your bridesmaid picked out, the guest list for your wedding will be pretty much the same as the guest list for your 21st, but those things are years away. You feel pretty lucky to be part of a generation with the best ever music in the charts since records began. You want to go to all the festivals as each one is better than the next and sometimes there's a novelty act like Oasis for a bit of a blast from the past.
You've decorated your room lime green and purple and can't understand why no one thought of that before. For sheer originality you've decided to get a disco ball and a lava lamp so your room is as unique as everyone else's. You'll never tell your family you smoke. That would be the end of everything!
You have the best holiday ever planned. You and all your mates will go somewhere hot, but get this, he he he, you'll all get matching T-shirts printed with numbers and team names on the back. Totally original; and you're going to call yourself 'Shagger' on yours and your best mate will be 'Wing Man'. You wonder if anyone will be clever enough to work out that's a reference to Top Gun.
One day you'll tour the world with a backpack.

And when you've done all this. When you've truly lived like no one ever lived before, you'll wake up and wonder why your photos, your clothes, your ticket stubs, your memories are the same as everyone else's. You blazed a trail, cut a path, explored yet discovered that the trail was a highway, the path was a pedestrian precinct. I say enjoy it. Remember, you are unique; just like everyone else.

More tomorrow...

No comments:

Post a Comment