Emma Hutchins
Opinions Editor
Generation Y. We’re hot, tech-savvy, impatient, globalized, spendthrifts, and we’re also suffering from Peter Pan disorder? Huh? Yes, Wikipedia has recently enlightened me that we’re also called the Peter Pan generation, because just like the characters in J.M. Barrie’s tale, we just don’t seem to want to grow up.
Um exccuusseeee meeee, but have they seen the cougars on The Real Housewives? Talk about not wanting to embrace adulthood. (But really, who can blame anyone for trying to avoid what our culture deems as ‘old’. It’s become synonymous with taxes, responsibility, less hair and it rhymes with mold. Eek.)
However it’s not so much that people want to be young, as they want to feel good about themselves – and with a culture so centered around appearance that’s become increasingly hard. Watch almost any television channel (except for maybe C-SPAN), and you will instantly be bombarded by face creams, hair gels, Atkins and his cult of carbless followers, and so on all telling you ‘Hey, you’re not good enough – not young enough.’
Maybe I sound like an overly touchy-feely middle school guidance counselor, but is it so wrong to just be yourself? Once you hit that golden number you don’t have to turn over your pair of heels and be banished to the world of tacky holiday sweaters and dentures. But what if you like said tacky holiday sweaters? What if you need dentures? Why is it such a big deal? Why am I asking so many questions?
So maybe it’s time to say Au Revoir to Peter, Captain Hook, Tiger Lily and the rest of the gang, because you won’t find the real Fountain of Youth with Juan Ponce de León and his crew (or with Rogaine for that matter); it’s an internal discovery. In short, we should cherish our inner kid, and translate him or her into the future chapters of our lives. (Notable exceptions include grandmas in mini-skirts.)
