What Is Generation X?
I’m always a day late because I didn’t know about the generational labels or I never really paid attention to them until recently. Sure, who hasn’t heard of Millenials- they are always topic A with just about every comedian and journalist when the state of the world and economy gets discussed.
Enter TikTok and their trending posts, “Is Gen X ok?”. Apparently, we all have labels now. Gen X is the generation after the baby boomers if you’re wondering- specifically, 1965-1980 or as I like to call it the best generation giggle. Yes! I am Generation X. Of course every generation has merit and value- I often envy the millennials and Gen Z-ers at how they benefitted and got to grow up with so much information and self-awareness.
That being said I also envy the generations before for trailblazing everything we now enjoy and I don’t really think we have valued family and community like they did then. But let’s get on with what you can learn from GenX and apply it today.
Self Reliance
We raised ourselves pretty much. I think it’s called latchkey kids (not positive) it was a big time of divorce and working moms. I remember I was pretty much on my own from the time I was 9..one of the key-on-a-chain kids. We ran the streets when it was safe to go from the time the sun came up till it went down.
Be Adaptable
Generation X was present at the beginning of the great change in the world. From the Civil Rights Movement to the Internet, we were the in-between. I think for a lot of generations it was already in place but we had to process world change with ease and we did without complaining because we also learned from the previous generation that it is what it is.
The Soul Tribe
We came from a time when our friends were our family because we took care of ourselves so much- friends and friend groups were so important. We took care of each other and a lot of us came from broken homes I believe we learned the value of close friendships.
Minding Your Business
Not sure if it’s totally a good thing but we didn’t say ish about ish. We were brought up to say nothing and that’s exactly what we did. I really carry that in my life now. I think about all of the social platforms and how people tell everything. I still don’t. I had to learn to be open with my personal experiences and even now I’m very selective about what I share.
Basically, if we had a problem we looked for ways to just deal with it, and like I said that wasn’t always a good thing. Today stigmas have lifted from so many things we never would have openly shared so that is amazing.
We were the unseen unheard generation that had a lot of positive aspects and its always beautiful to watch how each generation added positive elements to the last and what I take away from that- we all can hugely learn from each other!
Blessings,
Heidi