So, there is a select group to ride this roller coaster: Generation X. This commonly refers to those born between 1965 to 1980 but of course this is arbitrary. What is a generation anyway? It is not a distinct group of people. The cutoffs are not sharp beginning and ends of decades. It is more of a stereotyping and group-think process of generalizing people that eventually becomes widespread enough to be labeled as a generation. Keeping the imaginary borders of what defines a generation and recognizing the gross over generalizing of an entire population, I proceed to discuss my generation; the renowned yet understated Gen X.
As millennials and boomers go at each other, I thought the middle child might want to make a statement. I am Gen X. We grew up on MTV music videos, wearing leg warmers and crazy big hair. Our high schools had smoking sections for students to smoke at the freshman-sophomore lunch in addition to the junior-senior lunch. They called us Generation X because we were nondescript. We stood for nothing and did close to nothing. Can that be true? That is not the way I remember it. We were just late bloomers. We have become some of the most productive people, especially in regards to technology and startup businesses. Let's not forget, that Amazon and Microsoft were our brainchildren.
I grew up Gen X in California’s South Bay before it was the Silicon Valley. We went to Happy Hollow and Frontier Village as yungins and frequented the Serra Twin Theater and the Eastridge Mall as teenagers. We stayed up late to watch Bob Wilkins host Creature Features.
So why the trip down memory lane? Am I in staunch defense of the reputation of Gen X? Not really. After all, I am Generation X. We are known for our quiet walk through life. I guess whenever there is change, it is time for retrospection. I have been a medical doctor for twenty-four years and, although I love this profession and will continue to work as a physician, I am now also a writer. And I am approaching empty nesting. So, where have I come from? What have I done? Where am I going? It has been an enlightening and varied experience, this thing called life, and so many of my fellow Gen Xers have such full yet very different lives. In fact, I think Generation X has some of the most unique individuals among us. Maybe we are not Gen X because we are nondescript do nothings. Maybe there just wasn’t anything that could define us all because we were all so different. We were sent out in the world with one task, to find the X that marks our spot.
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