The Lost Generation 2.0

I recently read the book The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, which is one of his most famous novels about the "Lost Generation" of expatriates who felt they didn't have a home after World War I. I can't claim to know exactly how these young writers and intellectuals felt about the world they lived in: I know for a fact, though, that my generation is at least as lost as that generation, without the added bonus of family money to keep us afloat.

My age group recently graduated from college and was thrust into one of the most tumultuous economic times in U.S. history. Most of us haven't been granted the luxury of getting wonderful jobs on the merit of our bachelor degrees and internships alone--we were simply thrown into an economy which does not seem to want us. It unsettles me to think about sometimes. I imagine an America which in 10 years may have less experience and education than the generation before it. Many people my age dropped out of college for one reason or another, and those who did complete their educations are having a difficult time finding work in their discipline or even the opportunity for a higher education because there simply isn't room.

I don't want to talk much about the economy though: the topic has been absolutely discussed to death. What I do want to comment on is the seeming correlation between the current economic and political climate and the shocking rise in young marriage and motherhood.

Quite a leap, isn't it? I suppose it might be, but I see them as 100% intertwined. In the past year alone, I have seen at least 50 of my past friends and acquaintances become engaged, get married, have a baby, or any one of those combinations, all of them under the age of 25. Where pictures of college parties once stood in the profile pictures of my peers are now baby bellies, infants in their new homes, and close-up shots of diamond rings. It seems to be an epidemic of epic proportions.

I won't say that I think it's wrong. I'm in my early 20's, as many of my friends are, and that is not so young. It isn't unheard of for people to be married by my age: my mother was married and had her first child by the time she was my age. On the other hand, my mother also dropped out of college to marry my father at the age of 20, and that is fairly young. And it wasn't completely risky, either. They got married in the 80's, one of the most prosperous times in U.S. history as far as I'm aware. And here we are, in the 21st century, the technology explosion gaining momentum at every turn, and many, many girls my age are...having babies? Getting married? Does not compute.

Let it be known right now: I will cherish the day I marry the love of my life, and I can't wait to hold my babies in my arms for the first time. Even as a cynical single, inside my heart of hearts I want to be loved and receive love. The birth of a child is a blessed event, and marriage still holds a magic which is unsurpassed by most traditions of its time. These are facts to me.

However, I'm also acutely aware of the following facts: 1. I have only known my current partner, love of my life, and eventual fiance and husband for one year. 2. Even with a bachelor's degree and years of experience under my belt, it is nearly impossible to find a stable job with benefits in this job market. 3. I am 22 years old. I have time.

These facts deter me from starting a family, and these facts are similar to other girls my age. Some may be in a better situation financially, or may have families who are more likely to help them should they need it, but by and large people my age are lacking in experience, both in the workforce and with relationships. Yet at least once or twice a month someone new is engaged, or married, or expecting. Which is where my theory of the Lost Generation comes into play.

With the prospects of a career job sometimes years away, and a general lack of direction or idea of life's true challenges clouding their every move, I honestly believe many young people of my generation are starting families because, well, why the heck not? There isn't much else to do nowadays. I know that every single one of the people I know who have gotten married, engaged, or become parents recently are at least marginally happy in their lives, some of them ecstatically so. They are entering into matrimony or motherhood with hope, excitement, and determination. However, it seems to me that they are also entering into a situation which means "forever," something of which a person in their early 20's really has no concept.

The man who you have known for 5 months, or 2 years, or maybe even 6, who you just said "I do" to? Yeah, that's the guy you'll be waking up to every single day for the next SIXTY YEARS, and that's if you're lucky. That cute, precious angel who is your baby? They will grow up, learn to think for themselves, and present challenges to you for the rest of your life. Forever. Marriage and raising children is work, it's difficult, and sometimes you're going to want to give up, but you can't because it's your life. Is this the burden girls my age want to take on? We have barely moved out of our parents' houses, and some of us still haven't! It is an incredibly strange phenomena, and one which I'm interested to see play out for the next decade as people grow and change.

I'm not making judgments on these girls: I have absolutely no right because I am not engaged, married, pregnant, or a mother. I simply wonder what the future holds for my generation, and where we will find the direction we need to make the future something we want to live.