Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The Odyssey Years

So - here I live in Japan. I'm often reminded by friends and family back at home how lucky I am to have this opportunity. I don't dispute that fact ever because I know I am priveledged in not only this opportunity but the many things I take for granted just being a middle-class white person. However, no matter how good things seem to be, no matter how much I remind myself that I am lucky, no matter all these factors - there are times that I feel so lost and so confused. There are times that I feel completely lost in life. Moreover, the things that I feel at a loss for - I often feel I have nowhere to turn to find the answers. A self help book? My parents? the Internet? Who? I know all these sources could provide some answers, but still - not be able to relate very well. I've engaged in several conversations with my peers - not only in Japan, but back in America, others living lives in other countries temporarily, mainly those in their mid to late twenties. As humans, we tend to socialize with those who have similiar interests, hobbies, etc. Thus, most the people I am talking about this to, also think similarly to me and haven't started their permanent career, etc. Someone once mentioned to me that there used to be only be 4 steps in life but now there are more because life expectancy is longer and there are more opportunities. These additional stages are new to society, so there's not much to say about them yet. Today, another English teacher in the area showed me this article...I think it's neat because it kind of describes who I am, and this sometimes overly confusing period in my life for me. So, without further ado, here it is...it's from the New York Times...

The Odyssey Years


There used to be four common life phases: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Now, there are at least six: childhood, adolescence, odyssey, adulthood, active retirement and old age. Of the new ones, the least understood is odyssey, the decade of wandering that frequently occurs between adolescence and adulthood.

During this decade, 20-somethings go to school and take breaks from school. They live with friends and they live at home. They fall in and out of love. They try one career and then try another.

Their parents grow increasingly anxious. These parents understand that there’s bound to be a transition phase between student life and adult life. But when they look at their own grown children, they see the transition stretching five years, seven and beyond. The parents don’t even detect a clear sense of direction in their children’s lives. They look at them and see the things that are being delayed.

They see that people in this age bracket are delaying marriage. They’re delaying having children. They’re delaying permanent employment. People who were born before 1964 tend to define adulthood by certain accomplishments — moving away from home, becoming financially independent, getting married and starting a family.

In 1960, roughly 70 percent of 30-year-olds had achieved these things. By 2000, fewer than 40 percent of 30-year-olds had done the same.

Yet with a little imagination it’s possible even for baby boomers to understand what it’s like to be in the middle of the odyssey years. It’s possible to see that this period of improvisation is a sensible response to modern conditions.

Two of the country’s best social scientists have been trying to understand this new life phase. William Galston of the Brookings Institution has recently completed a research project for the Hewlett Foundation. Robert Wuthnow of Princeton has just published a tremendously valuable book, “After the Baby Boomers” that looks at young adulthood through the prism of religious practice.

Through their work, you can see the spirit of fluidity that now characterizes this stage. Young people grow up in tightly structured childhoods, Wuthnow observes, but then graduate into a world characterized by uncertainty, diversity, searching and tinkering. Old success recipes don’t apply, new norms have not been established and everything seems to give way to a less permanent version of itself.

Dating gives way to Facebook and hooking up. Marriage gives way to cohabitation. Church attendance gives way to spiritual longing. Newspaper reading gives way to blogging. (In 1970, 49 percent of adults in their 20s read a daily paper; now it’s at 21 percent.)

The job market is fluid. Graduating seniors don’t find corporations offering them jobs that will guide them all the way to retirement. Instead they find a vast menu of information economy options, few of which they have heard of or prepared for.

Social life is fluid. There’s been a shift in the balance of power between the genders. Thirty-six percent of female workers in their 20s now have a college degree, compared with 23 percent of male workers. Male wages have stagnated over the past decades, while female wages have risen.

This has fundamentally scrambled the courtship rituals and decreased the pressure to get married. Educated women can get many of the things they want (income, status, identity) without marriage, while they find it harder (or, if they’re working-class, next to impossible) to find a suitably accomplished mate.

The odyssey years are not about slacking off. There are intense competitive pressures as a result of the vast numbers of people chasing relatively few opportunities. Moreover, surveys show that people living through these years have highly traditional aspirations (they rate parenthood more highly than their own parents did) even as they lead improvising lives.

Rather, what we’re seeing is the creation of a new life phase, just as adolescence came into being a century ago. It’s a phase in which some social institutions flourish — knitting circles, Teach for America — while others — churches, political parties — have trouble establishing ties.

But there is every reason to think this phase will grow more pronounced in the coming years. European nations are traveling this route ahead of us, Galston notes. Europeans delay marriage even longer than we do and spend even more years shifting between the job market and higher education.

And as the new generational structure solidifies, social and economic entrepreneurs will create new rites and institutions. Someday people will look back and wonder at the vast social changes wrought by the emerging social group that saw their situations first captured by “Friends” and later by “Knocked Up.”

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

That was a great article sara.. i think that it really does define everyone in our age group (aside from myself). i was lucky enough to jump into a career that i love directly out of college, but there are so many times that i simply feel trapped. i don't want to give up this career, but there are so many things that i know i could be doing (such as what you're doing yourself). This past weekend up in plattsburgh made me realize how much i miss that lifestyle, after hearing all the stories of my friends and the lives they are living i sometimes can't help but wonder if i made a mistake jumping so fast into a career. everyone feels confused about life, so don't worry i think its amazing what youre doing and you know that you can always talk to me about anything!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting article, Sara, and so true. I never read up on this topic or really thought much about it, but it is very true to life in your age group. Remember, there are many transitions in life and being able to adapt is important. I hope you find comfort knowing you are not alone in feeling confused about your plan in life. Sometimes even the best laid plans do not work out as hoped. But you keep moving on. Do not worry too much, for you are a wonderful person with a wonderful future ahead of you (even if you are not aware of that now!) You truly amaze me every day for the great person you are and are loved a lot for just being you!! xoxoxo