Afternoon tea with my mum and my grandma yesterday really highlighted the differing priorities of the generations. I was happily explaining my plans for next year: to finish uni, spend 5 weeks overseas then come home and apply for jobs for the following year. I figured I was unlikely to get a job mid way through term 3 or in term 4, and that it would be difficult to travel for that length of time (at that time of year), once I had a teaching position. While I don't feel I fit the media's portrayal of a Gen Y, I do feel that life if for living, and experiences such as travel make for a richer life.
My grandma was horrified. In her opinion, my priority should be to find a job, then a partner (I think she's quite disappointed I'm single and not providing great-grand children yet), then worry about travel.
Yet, she explains that she didn't get to travel until she was 51, having married very young and had three kids. Similarly, my mum (a Baby Boomer) married young, had me a bit later, and still hasn't been overseas.
Coincidentally, an article was published in a Sunday magazine yesterday regarding the exact topic. Many people of my generation still live at home and are still working out where we stand in terms of careers. Housing prices make buying your own place almost impossible, especially for a single girl like myself. The article even mentions a girl my age who had moved out of home, had the desired career and the long term relationship, but tossed it all in to travel.
Times have definitely changed, and us Gen Ys certainly have more opportunities than the previous generations. At this point in my life I choose travel, then job, then family. No regrets!
1 comment:
I really think everyone should travel if they have the opportunity. i'm always telling my 25yr old son to go and explore the world, which hopefully he will do in the next couple of years. Go and enjoy your life.
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