This is for the kids who bit their tongues, hid away in their rooms and had to discover what it felt to be alive in their adult years by challenging internal bias’. I see you, I hear you, I am rooting for you.
I am a “Gen Z”, and an old friend and I were RIPPING on millennials yesterday. “What is with their obsession with pinterest, fad diets and humiliating younger generations with jokes like, yOu ProBabLy dOnT kNow wHaT a VCR iS/dO yOu eVeN kNoW hOw tO reAd a CloCk, and my least favourite- selfies with seasonal starbucks drinks captioned with way too many emojis”. It was harmless banter, but the conversation deepened when we considered, “so what are our generations stigma?”.
A quick google search revealed, “Gen Z experiences high rates of anxiety and depression due to academic pressures, social media comparisons, economic uncertainty, and other stressors” We are the first to have grown up wholly in the digital era, unsupervised and opportunistic. We went through the COVID-19 pandemic during monumental developmental years (14-22), and have been welcomed into one of the most devastating job and housing markets, (maybe I am a bit bitter in Vancouver, BC).
I realize pain is relative, we have suffered as have every generation has before us and after us will.
My point here is introspection. We easily deflect our own shame, guilt and fear by focusing in on others- notice how every movies ” bully” trope deflects their own insecurity and dissatisfaction by ridiculing others!! How often do we stop ourselves dead in our tracks to examine the source of our frustration or discomfort?!
I realized how often I was acting out of a place of fear in the world. The fear of rejection, of failure, of ridicule, of mistake, of not being good enough. I was in the position of dodging discomfort and feeling belonging everywhere I could.
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It is due to my wise teachers, my beloved friends, and my mothers instilled sense of self-discipline and courage that I owe this clarity of understanding.
Each decision in this lifetime belongs to YOU. You may believe that you have a predetermined fate or maybe you are a nihilist, the fact remains that each moment you make a choice that determines your trajectory. I challenge you to internalize the mantra, “respond don’t react”. Understand that each person is acting out of their own self-interest, that you have the choice to stay where you are, or leave and pursue uncertainty elsewhere.
Take this blogpost as a pep talk, a wake up call, whatever you need now. I would LOVE to hear how you have changed your life and act out of your authenticity.
Warmly,
Serayha Tukutau
Your Subtle Bodies 