This article gave me a great inside on what it’s like to be a 20-something in America. Being almost twenty five and actually achieving three of those five milestones by the age of 19, I still haven’t quite figured out what it means to be a grown-up. Despite being financially independent from the age of 18 and emigrating from my homeland at 19 by myself (changing two countries in the process), having experienced years of uncertainty, one would imagine I’d be hungry for stability. Instead, the idea of routine and missing out on pursuing my dreams, figuring out what those dreams actually are, - that scares me. I feel like if I had this safe cushion of financial security given by parents, combined with freedom of exploration and self-expression, I’d be reluctant to move on into adulthood as well.
I see my 20-something American friends graduating from college and trying to find some solid ground to stand on only meet bitter reality of job deficiency and lack of experience they are supposed to gain by working for free as “interns”. Even if they are lucky to find an actual job, some are now drowning in student loans they are supposed to pay, bills they can barely cover with their monthly checks. They are lucky if they can afford to rent an apartment for themselves, but how can they be expected to actually buy a property? Banks wouldn’t be too eager to give them loans. Then you have to wonder, why is this so important in the first place? Is having your own house really that better than renting? How is marrying your partner better than simply living together? Thanks to the technology outburst, easier access and exchange of information, generation Y was taught to think more critically and challenge the established norms, including those milestones. Some start to consider several of them, like having children or buying property, unnecessary at all or push them far into their 30-ies. Others might want to achieve them “on time” but are unable to do so due to the economical situation. Some even manage to achieve all of them and yet still feel uncertain about their choices, and decide to redo some of them, for example, changing a job or going back to school to switch their majors. The financial dependence and inability to make decisions is not a good thing, but on the other hand, this generation no longer feels like it’s stuck with choices they have made at such a young age, and in the long run, they have better chances to end up doing things that actually make them happy and give them a feeling of success, their own definition of success, not necessary the one established by the society. As Arnett states, our generation “gains a better understanding of who they are and what they want from life”. It’s a bit easier to do when you are not feeling pressured into deadlines. For me, I can’t say I am ready to reach adulthood and make lifelong commitments when it comes to job or even profession just yet. The psychological researches mentioned in the article all sound fascinating, and I wish there was more research on 20-somethings in other countries or first-generation young immigrants here is US. The stereotype of people immigrating for the purpose of giving their children a better future or providing for their families might not necessary work anymore. Maybe, more of the Millennial generation immigrants are actually thinking about themselves when they make this life-changing decision. Maybe they still feel they are not too late for them to pursue their own dreams at their own speed, independently of what their society and family expected from them. I know I do. My American dream is not only gaining success but being able to define it by myself as well.
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