"The culture-class Millennial dream is dead." Yes—and it's a market correction that's gonna leave people limping and aching for some time. For a lot of my old [millennial] friends who took "follow your bliss" seriously, it's been a kind of spiritual crisis. They don't have anything else they ever wanted to be or hope for.
There's not terribly much to say. I know people in their mid- to late thirties who were strongly encouraged (by peers and by the pervasive optimism of the early internet & pre-Recession culture) to prioritize their creative projects above all else, wholly confident it was what they were Meant To Do and that the arithmetic would eventually work itself out. Most are musicians, not writers, but the basic point is the same. They obeyed the injunction to Do What They Loved, and some didn't have a Plan B when What They Loved didn't pay the bills and the scenes in which they were involved either broke apart or moved past what they had to offer. I've got one friend in particular who held onto the dream far too long, and is currently unemployed, living with his parents, and has no idea where to go from there.
It's one thing when a business venture fails or a career path within a particular company hits a wall. It's another when the thing you were convinced was your calling since you were a teenager becomes an albatross around your neck that you still can't bear to part with.
On a somewhat related note: you don't hear the phrase "sell out" much these days. Surely it has something to do with the mercenary cynicism of the click economy and hustle culture—but it's telling that the phrase and concept came into currency at a time before a generation born to middle-class families realized that they were in real danger of backsliding into the precariat, if they hadn't already. Posturing against selling out suddenly seems ridiculous against the backdrop of downward social mobility.
Please keep writing. Your cultural perspectives are as unique and nuanced as the political perspectives provided by Sheluyang Peng (who recommended your Substack).
Came across your Substack today (have been following you since I came across your Free Food for Millionaires post in Plan A last year). Really solid piece interweaving law school (for me it's finance haha) and dying dreams and good movies. Keep writing, I will too!
"The realization that there wasn’t nearly enough space for all of them explains much of so-called cancel culture and woke ideology today, but that’s a topic for another piece."
Hmmmm. Make sure you link that one on FdB substack, because you may be on to something.
"The culture-class Millennial dream is dead." Yes—and it's a market correction that's gonna leave people limping and aching for some time. For a lot of my old [millennial] friends who took "follow your bliss" seriously, it's been a kind of spiritual crisis. They don't have anything else they ever wanted to be or hope for.
I can imagine what they might be feeling, but could you elaborate?
There's not terribly much to say. I know people in their mid- to late thirties who were strongly encouraged (by peers and by the pervasive optimism of the early internet & pre-Recession culture) to prioritize their creative projects above all else, wholly confident it was what they were Meant To Do and that the arithmetic would eventually work itself out. Most are musicians, not writers, but the basic point is the same. They obeyed the injunction to Do What They Loved, and some didn't have a Plan B when What They Loved didn't pay the bills and the scenes in which they were involved either broke apart or moved past what they had to offer. I've got one friend in particular who held onto the dream far too long, and is currently unemployed, living with his parents, and has no idea where to go from there.
It's one thing when a business venture fails or a career path within a particular company hits a wall. It's another when the thing you were convinced was your calling since you were a teenager becomes an albatross around your neck that you still can't bear to part with.
On a somewhat related note: you don't hear the phrase "sell out" much these days. Surely it has something to do with the mercenary cynicism of the click economy and hustle culture—but it's telling that the phrase and concept came into currency at a time before a generation born to middle-class families realized that they were in real danger of backsliding into the precariat, if they hadn't already. Posturing against selling out suddenly seems ridiculous against the backdrop of downward social mobility.
Please keep writing. Your cultural perspectives are as unique and nuanced as the political perspectives provided by Sheluyang Peng (who recommended your Substack).
Thanks Steven!
Came across your Substack today (have been following you since I came across your Free Food for Millionaires post in Plan A last year). Really solid piece interweaving law school (for me it's finance haha) and dying dreams and good movies. Keep writing, I will too!
Thanks Val! I enjoy reading your writing too
"The realization that there wasn’t nearly enough space for all of them explains much of so-called cancel culture and woke ideology today, but that’s a topic for another piece."
Hmmmm. Make sure you link that one on FdB substack, because you may be on to something.