By Tatiana Kielberman
The other day, I read a poem by Luiz Fernando Veríssimo that could easily have been a mirror, reflecting my self. Working for the blog, I’m used to receiving many texts that talk about generational conflicts, and yet very few of them are straight to the point, or express in a direct way the veritable transition that we are living today.
The title of the poem is E tudo mudou…, (“And Everything Changes”). It prepares our minds to think about the continuous cycle of ideas, in which people and objects experience change constantly, simultaneously facilitating the access to technology and opening up the path to new trends.
One of Veríssimo’s humorous creations explains how even the names of things are constantly changing. Even names that have been set in stone, since our grandparents’ time are not exempt. Of course, it’s not just the names the change, but also the meanings.
For instance, my own mother, who is part of Generation X, uses the term “adolescent crisis.” As part of Generation Y, I would articulate the same idea simply by using the word “stress.” It’s important to note that generational preoccupations can’t be compared. We don’t have the same preoccupations that our parents did, and we can’t forget that they put in a lot of hard work, for us to be here today. For Generation Y, the microwave pretty much defines us, and truly pertains to our lives. We just want to know what we can get now, at this exact minute.
Also, the significance we attribute to facts and feelings is intense and vivacious. We aren’t content in simply feeling sadness. We skip straight to depression. We don’t want to wear a wig, rather we like the more permanent nature of highlights that blend in with our natural hair. We don’t like light music in the background, but would rather listen to a million songs playing at the same time.
We weren’t born to be invisible, or to want little. We live in a world where to mark your presence is to discover moment by moment, everything that is part of us. We are sure that we can do this with pleasure. If something goes wrong in the middle of the road, what matters is that we tried.
My only apprehension toward the poem was that it leaves you with a bit of sadness. Humor is replaced by values that are very present in my day-to-day, but which I also attempt to escape. The indifference in regards to everything, the war between brothers, and the inability of certain people to care, do diminish my hope sometimes. But I never give up on the fight for what I believe in.
True to my Generation Y roots, I believe that I can play a role in conveying what is crucial to being shared between generations. It’s not just because things change that we have to get rid of those values.
Our intuition is to change, but evolution is only valid if we move along with it. There’s much value to be gained by saving the past and learning along with it.
Generation Y has a great thirst for life. A life possible through work, and through the wisdom of many other generations, who used lipstick instead of gloss, rouge instead of blush, but gave us the authenticity which made us who we are today. Gen Y has a great tendency to be firm in our beliefs, but we can’t forget the openness necessary to truly live difference.
