Generations vary...
“Shs150, 000 for shoes, that’s ridiculous! What am I buying? In our days, we never put on shoes. We used to attend school barefoot.” That was my father’s reaction when I requested for money to buy a new pair of shoes. He whined and went on about how they never had privileges like us, the “children of these days” before actually reaching for his wallet to give me the money.
I’m perplexed by the way our parents always have to rub it in our faces. They at all times compare their days to ours. When the cable TV subscription expires or when the monthly internet expires, they always try to show us that the things we take as a priority these days never ever existed in their days, before renewing the subscription.
Another interesting statement I always hear from our dear parents is, “In our days, we used to read using a lantern or candle”. so I always think to myself, are we also supposed to read using a lantern or candle even with this abundant electricity and solar?
Must we, the “children of these days” also go through what our parents went through to be as successful as they are? I believe they endured all these difficulties just to make the world a better place for us, for which we are definitely very grateful. Yes, the comparisons make us feel lucky and blessed, if not done in that annoying manner. These comparisons do not really have to pop up when I’m asking for that latest model of a Samsung phone or expensive pair of jeans. I believe they can be told as tales during dinner times and those happy and fun family moments at the beach, I am just saying!
The fact remains every generation has a way of living or trend. Much as we, your children appreciate the hustle and tussle you went through in “your days”, we are also trying, not just trying but working and studying really hard to also make the world a better place for our future children. I think it will be worse for us since everything will be digitalised. I always envision our children having lectures through Skype, and demanding for cars instead of the Shs150,000 we demand for shoes today. Unlike today where a ream of paper is a requirement, our children are most likely to be as asked for laptops and iPads as requirements.
See, the point is we must live with it. Our generation can never be like yours and will never be like that of our future children. Miniskirts will be put on, nude photos and sextapes will continue to leak and so forth. Not because we want to but because it is bound to happen. It’s just like a phase in life, you can’t do away with it and if you do, you’ll have fixation in the future.
