post-grad episode two: adult transitions and major dealings
A hiatus from writing has made my creative mental space a cluttered mess. the past year has amassed the most Mt. Olympus style pile of clothes in my mental space. Each article of clothes is a moment, memory, experience, and opportunity that has lend itself to me for peak character development. Even the most talented screenwriters couldn’t have imagined the plot twists, trials, and tribulations that made 2023 the most Jupitarian return this Sagittarius could have ever dreamed of. (she lived for the drama!)
2023 marked the first full calendar year that Miss Shae had been a full-fledged adult. From making tough decisions in the early new year to ending the year on a grateful high, I would be remiss to not discuss the very real trial of young adulthood that no one really wants to talk about these days. it’s no secret that we are at the crux of the most difficult time in our individual and collective lives. we are witnessing incomprehensible inequities at home and abroad, mass manufactured consent and complicity in multiple genocides, mass disillusionment in the severity of the ongoing pandemic, and experiencing minimal progress in the ability to protect our futures. Our generation is going through the roughest transition into adulthood mentally, physically, socially, and economically. The investment in community has become more difficult as there have been efforts to force us into a slave class bound by capitalism. As it seems that the world progressively spins faster, young adults suffer from the conflicts of actively participating in this adult world.
Adulting has been described as “the real world”, where people have to make sacrifices and trade-offs to continue to be an active participant in society; however, our generation struggles with this social contract, for we understand that this investment comes at a immoral cost. We are not seeing the payoff of investing in these social contracts anymore, and we do not believe our faux comfort should come at a disadvantage to anyone’s wellbeing and humanity. We see through social media and our communities how displeased young people are. The wool that has been around the eyes of the older generation in exchange for faux comfort has already been burnt from our eyes. We’ve seen in real time how the escapism and delusion storyline has run stale. However, through societal pressure and fear of retaliation, many are struggling to cope with the realities of this world. The older generations have maintained their invested interests in the system at place, to all our detriments. Now, we sit with the contentions and breaking points of this moment.
Evoking my favorite quote of all time, I reaffirm that, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” -Zora Neale Hurston
2023 provided the questions and the spirit of 2024 will form the answers that will change the rest of our lives. Here are some of those questions:
1. What beliefs, values, habits and comforts are we willing to lose so that we may achieve true liberation?
2. What beliefs, values, habits, and comforts will we hold onto to guide our heart work, personal growth and professional development?
3. How will we reject capitalism and the culture of escapism and disillusionment?
4. How will we bring truth, transparency, and accountability to the forefront of the most pressing issues of today?
5. In what ways have we been complicit in harm and how will we respond to calls for accountability and action?
Obviously, there are more questions to be asked and more actions to be taken; however, I hope that we may begin to denounce this new “normal” and push back against the notion that this is the best that is to be had. Everything of this world was made up! We either created this world or were made within it and we can create new, better, more imaginative and equitable worlds. That is my hope for 2024 and beyond.
