The Defining Decade, written by P.H.D. Meg Jay, claims that your “twentysomething years”, as she likes to call it, are among the most formative years of your life. She calls these years, “the defining years of adulthood”, and with good reason, as she, a clinical psychologist, has worked with countless young adults and helped them to overcome the newly widespread cultural phenomenon that our twenties are our new thirties. Jay implores to the audience that this couldn’t be further from the truth. She states that these “twentysomething years” are defining moments in a persons life and can immensely influence the years to come. If there is any part of your life that has the most impact on your future self, it has to be your twenties. These ten …show more content…
We know that roughly eighty percent of life’s defining moments happen by the age of thirty-five and just about seventy percent of lifetime wage growth happens within the first ten years of a career. So why is it that we as a society seem to ignore the significance and weight these years have on a person’s life? Jay asserts that new graduates and even adults who have been out of college for some time seem to feel a sense of cluelessness about where their life is “supposed” to go. Funnily enough, I found myself identifying with a lot of what her patients describe to her. From the sessions with Ian who felt by saying yes to a career, he was somehow saying no to an interesting or limitless life, or the sessions with Sam, who felt completely and desperately alone with his feelings of uncertainty in his life both thus far and in the future, there were very few cases I couldn’t relate to. It was surprisingly comforting reading about some of the things I had experienced, not only in the sense that I could learn from these sessions, but also because there were other people who were experiencing the same emotions and thoughts that I
The film, The Graduate, tells a story about a new college graduate and his experience upon returning home to expectations of his peers and a fear of his own future. Produced in the 1960’s, The Graduate, depicts topics such as isolationism and alienation through the protagonist, Benjamin Braddock. The main theme of the movie is the idea of Benjamin’s isolation being caused by the pressure from expectations that the older generations lay upon him; he does not know what he wants to do with his future, yet his father and peers continues to hound him and question him on his future plans. A common fear for most college students and newly college graduates, many college students are unsure of where their lives will lead them and without a certain answer, can be nerve racking. Benjamin’s father and peers make this idea apparent to Ben when they often ask him “What are you gonna do now?”. Our protagonist does not seem to have a positive answer for them almost every time. Mr. Braddock also parades Benjamin to his friends by buying him extravagant gifts
Brooks wrote this article to inform the new generation not to buy into the hype of the “baby boomers.” He uses a compare and contrast type of approach with contrasting explanations of people’s expectations versus reality. The author wants to convey a feeling of awareness, which almost feels foreboding. The intended audience is young American college students or those about to enter college. It's intent to them is to inform them of the dangers that follow graduation where expectations are concerned. This audience is comprised of both male and female readers of all races and
Williams, R. H., & Wirths, C. G. (1965). Lives through the years: Styles of life and successful aging.
In today’s culture, the number of issues that the average person has to face on a daily basis, are astronomical. Millennials, in particular, have been greatly affected by this, so much so that a new phase in the human lifespan has been created just for them! Dubbed “emerging adulthood” by psychologist Jeffrey Arnett, plopped smack dab in the middle of adolescence, and adulthood, this phase captures any, and all doubts that 20-29 year olds are plagued with. From their economic standing, to racial, ethnic, and identity issues, and to disabilities ranging from both mental, and physical, this phase captures every single uncertainty, fear, and qualm that one person can possibly have in a neat little package.
In the fall of every year, high school graduate begin this journey toward personal success, whether living on campus or with parents. There is a sense of maturity many of them feel when beginning this journey with the goal of graduating college and receiving the best credential possible to getting a well-paying job. “She Can Play That Game, Too” by Kate Taylor. Demonstrate a very important issue many college students face when beginning of this exciting journey. T...
When Chris Langan was faced with a tough decision in college, he decided, “that was the point that I decided I could do without the higher education system” (Gladwell 94). Chris made a decision that not many people in America want to do or nonetheless, actually do. He carries the risk of affecting his entire future by not receiving a college degree and getting a job that he can support himself with. Chris also knows what is best for himself, and that everyone is different. He does the best for himself, and others will see. This type of situation will hopefully help others by influencing them to do the best for only themselves in order for them to feel like they have achieved the American Dream. Another situation that people may come across where they have to make a life-changing decision is as immigrants. At a young age, a “Brilliant immigrant kid overcomes poverty and the Depression, can’t get a job at the stuffy downtown law firms, [and] makes it on his own through sheer hustle and ability” (Gladwell 119). As it is, it is really hard to adjust to a new life in a new country. People do not know what to expect when they immigrate to a different country, even despite what they have heard from others. This difficult decision to go to a completely new place and start over is one that has to be made and
Coming out of High School, I had in my possession the perspective that I knew everything. So I started, straight off the bat, working in a variety of menial jobs, which would have lead me to a dead end, for as the good jobs in today’s society required college degrees. So, after working for two years with a white-collar full of frustration, I decided it was time to take matters into my own ink-stained, carpal tunnel syndrome-stricken hands. I immediately gave my two-weeks notice, and pontificated about going to college.
J. J. Arnett argues his theory about a developmental stage individuals go through of 18-25 year olds as a new concept, (Arnett, 2000, pp. 469). He describes emerging adulthood as being a sustained period of time where this age group, as mentioned previously, explores their roles preceding being an adult. These movements can include events similarly by taking longer than previous years to get married and have children, moving back in with their parents at a point during this age span, exploring self-identities, not feeling like an adult and feelings of self-failure. James E. Cote, who is a previous colleague of Arnett argues the opposite about this concept being an unexperienced developmental stage Arnett calls, “Emerging Adulthood”. Cote states
Emerging Adulthood represents the period of development from late teens through their twenties, mainly focusing on the ages 18-25. This is the period which people start exploring and realizing the capabilities of their lives, which then helps them characterize as adults and no longer teenagers. This topic of psychology is compelling to me because it’s a stage that every adult has lived through, it’s interesting that we have all experienced it differently based on our life circumstances and demographics. It’s interesting to see the changes throughout the years and eventually it will be easier for young people to explore these years as more young adults are going to school nowadays. It teaches me to further understand why emerging adults go through
“Though the age boundaries are not set in stone, we will consider middle adulthood as the developmental period that begins at approximately 40 to 45 years of age and extends to about 60 to 65 years of age” (Santrock, 2013, p. 485). I interviewed two individuals for this paper. Each person was asked the same fifteen questions (Appendix). I interviewed a male and a female who fell in the midrange of middle adulthood.
The Defining Decade by Meg Jay, revolves around the idea that your adulthood is defined by what you do in your twenties. Meg Jay explains the importance of not laying around, and just waiting for stuff to happen when you are in your twentysomethings. She believes that your twenties is what determines your future, whether that be a healthy relationship, marriage, children, and career. In brief, The Defining Decade is Meg Jay disembodying the voice built by society that made believing that thirties is the new twenties acceptable, which she argues by saying that the twenties is the establishing point to ones future, not their thirties.
On May 21, 2005 David Foster Wallace delivered the commencement address at Kenyon College to graduating seniors as a realistic look at life after college. This speech discusses the importance of having a degree and the real values of an education which is not only about the knowledge we learn but also about having a sense of awareness. Wallace’s speech also talked about the transitions we go through in our lives and how it changes our prospectives while getting more aware about the reality we live in and what makes some people feel like they are the center of the universe. Adding to that his speech simply illustrates the life of pessimists as miserable and unable to move forward as long as they lack aspirations and view things in a negative
Emerging adults are always in the search of their own identity while experimenting with their life, love life and career path. Constant changes in emerging adult’s life are common. From changing residential place to love life, work and education, instability often presents during emerging adulthood (Santrock, 2013). In addition, emerging adults tend to place focus on themselves where they have no commitment and responsibilities toward others. This provides them a great chance to exercise their own will and to execute their plans for the future. During emerging adulthood, many feel like as if they do not belong to either adolescents or adult. The transition ends only when they have distinct marks of an adult. According to Arnett (as cited in Santrock, 2014), “emerging adulthood is the age of possibilities” (p. 296). The age of possibilities is when an individual has the opportunity to turn things around in life, especially when they are from a poor family
I graduate this May after six, long, self-searching years of three universities, four majors and a semester off from college. I, too, have been trying to find my own pathway and figuring out which direction to take. It’s been frustrating. The beauty of the theme of this play is that life isn’t a straight path, but the adventures you bravely take. This play reminded that life doesn’t have to be a check-lists of accomplishments that define my purpose; my purpose is defined by the risks I take and by what adventures I embark
It’s nonsensical to believe that every sixteen-year old should know what he or she wants to do with his or her life, and even more so to discourage someone from pursuing his or her interests. In a capitalist society, it makes sense that average salaries a few years out from college graduation would strongly influence the interests of many young people. It’s not uncommon to come across newspaper articles or editorials bemoaning the United States’ lack of engineers or glut of unemployed English majors. It’s even more common to...