It's a common dilemma for millennials who have gotten their lives together at an early age; most of their friends are still figuring theirs out.
The Peter Pan Generation has a strong three-way divide. There are those who refuse to follow societies rules and purposely rebel against them, playing by their own and doing things on their own time. Then, there are those that would love to do things within the time frame of generations before them, but it hasn't seemed to be in the cards for them. And then, there are those that have "grown-up" already. They have embraced adulthood, completing the picture with marriage, babies, and a career. But, the latter is the smallest percentage of the generation, and it often leaves them feeling just as lost. Sometimes, it makes a lot of sense to remember that there are plenty of people who are single and not lonely at all, and plenty of people who are married and feel completely alone.
I pride myself as being somewhat of an ambassador for the rebels of my generation. Strong in my convictions and highly anti-marriage, relationships and the structural norms society has set, I am a true-blue millennial, and I have dubbed myself "Peter Pandrew"- which you can read all about in my memoirs, "The Pandrew Trilogy." But, it has created a lonely life as I've watched people I've formed close relationships with "leave Neverland", so to speak, and pair off, get married and have children- not leaving much time for their best friend.
As I constantly try and find new lost boys and lost girls, those that leave me behind to start their "grown-up lives" embrace adulthood with vigor at first, only to find out that they are often just as lonely as I am. You see, in this day and age, it's hard to grow-up and be an adult when everyone around you is still ready for a party.
A lot of my female friends who are married with children are not like other girls- and they never were. These girls still have fiery spirits and that's never going to die in them. They love their children and they are wonderful mothers, but they don't feel "old" and they're not ready to just be adults. A part of them still wants to fly back to Neverland with me.
And I know that a lot of other married people out there feel the same way. They look around them at their generation and they wonder how they became their parents, while their friends are still acting they did in high school. Part of them resents them for it, and part of them wants to go back and party with them. It's the ultimate catch 22 and a war between the worlds of Generation Y. Can the three worlds co-exist between those who love their youth and want to hang on to it, those who have been thrust into adulthood, and those who are desperately trying to get there?
As Peter Pandrew, the ambassador of this generation, I can tell you right now that some of my truest friends have been those that have had to grow-up (as sucky as it may seem for me.) So, I'm pitching a new idea;
I'm creating a world where we can co-exist.
My writing is dedicated toward trying to be the voice of millennials, and right now, there is a subset of my generation that I love that is constantly excluded. Through this site, www.WendyandPandrew.Weebly.Com, I will give a forum toward those lost boys and girls that are married with children and have supposedly found their way, but still don't really know where they quite fit in. They still want to party with their single friends, but how do they get them to come out when they are covered in baby vomit? How do they get their bodies back past their second baby? Should they feel guilty for wanting to leave their kids alone and go on vacation with their friends?
I invite these mom's and dad's back to Neverland to a forum where everyone can be themselves without judgment. Where we can share tips on places to go and things to do with the kids and with your friends who haven't quite settled down yet. Party ideas that will attract not only your child's friends, but your friends as well.
Can we coexist? Maybe we can. Maybe we need to all realize that none of us really have it all figured out and we're all just as lost as the next person in our wacky generation and it's about time we helped one another get through it. Now, don't confuse what I'm saying- I'm not suggesting the rebels of our generation be forced to grow up (I would never!) I'm just suggesting we find a way where we don't have to say such bittersweet goodbyes as our lives go in separate directions. Because as Peter Pan says in the classic J.M. Barrie novel that has now defined our generation;
"Never say Goodbye. Because goodbye means going away. And going away means forgetting."
The Peter Pan Generation has a strong three-way divide. There are those who refuse to follow societies rules and purposely rebel against them, playing by their own and doing things on their own time. Then, there are those that would love to do things within the time frame of generations before them, but it hasn't seemed to be in the cards for them. And then, there are those that have "grown-up" already. They have embraced adulthood, completing the picture with marriage, babies, and a career. But, the latter is the smallest percentage of the generation, and it often leaves them feeling just as lost. Sometimes, it makes a lot of sense to remember that there are plenty of people who are single and not lonely at all, and plenty of people who are married and feel completely alone.
I pride myself as being somewhat of an ambassador for the rebels of my generation. Strong in my convictions and highly anti-marriage, relationships and the structural norms society has set, I am a true-blue millennial, and I have dubbed myself "Peter Pandrew"- which you can read all about in my memoirs, "The Pandrew Trilogy." But, it has created a lonely life as I've watched people I've formed close relationships with "leave Neverland", so to speak, and pair off, get married and have children- not leaving much time for their best friend.
As I constantly try and find new lost boys and lost girls, those that leave me behind to start their "grown-up lives" embrace adulthood with vigor at first, only to find out that they are often just as lonely as I am. You see, in this day and age, it's hard to grow-up and be an adult when everyone around you is still ready for a party.
A lot of my female friends who are married with children are not like other girls- and they never were. These girls still have fiery spirits and that's never going to die in them. They love their children and they are wonderful mothers, but they don't feel "old" and they're not ready to just be adults. A part of them still wants to fly back to Neverland with me.
And I know that a lot of other married people out there feel the same way. They look around them at their generation and they wonder how they became their parents, while their friends are still acting they did in high school. Part of them resents them for it, and part of them wants to go back and party with them. It's the ultimate catch 22 and a war between the worlds of Generation Y. Can the three worlds co-exist between those who love their youth and want to hang on to it, those who have been thrust into adulthood, and those who are desperately trying to get there?
As Peter Pandrew, the ambassador of this generation, I can tell you right now that some of my truest friends have been those that have had to grow-up (as sucky as it may seem for me.) So, I'm pitching a new idea;
I'm creating a world where we can co-exist.
My writing is dedicated toward trying to be the voice of millennials, and right now, there is a subset of my generation that I love that is constantly excluded. Through this site, www.WendyandPandrew.Weebly.Com, I will give a forum toward those lost boys and girls that are married with children and have supposedly found their way, but still don't really know where they quite fit in. They still want to party with their single friends, but how do they get them to come out when they are covered in baby vomit? How do they get their bodies back past their second baby? Should they feel guilty for wanting to leave their kids alone and go on vacation with their friends?
I invite these mom's and dad's back to Neverland to a forum where everyone can be themselves without judgment. Where we can share tips on places to go and things to do with the kids and with your friends who haven't quite settled down yet. Party ideas that will attract not only your child's friends, but your friends as well.
Can we coexist? Maybe we can. Maybe we need to all realize that none of us really have it all figured out and we're all just as lost as the next person in our wacky generation and it's about time we helped one another get through it. Now, don't confuse what I'm saying- I'm not suggesting the rebels of our generation be forced to grow up (I would never!) I'm just suggesting we find a way where we don't have to say such bittersweet goodbyes as our lives go in separate directions. Because as Peter Pan says in the classic J.M. Barrie novel that has now defined our generation;
"Never say Goodbye. Because goodbye means going away. And going away means forgetting."