Generation X
I am a typical latchkey Generation X, neglected, unsupervised, self-reliant, and entrepreneurial, securing my first paid job at age seven. Not only did Gen-Xes grow up in a fast-changing, uncertain time, but we also experienced shifting societal values, fractured family structure, a rise in divorces, single-parent households, and loneliness.
We said the Lord’s Prayer in primary school and sang O’ Canada – then, one day, we stopped. The subject of mental illness was unmentionable and attached to misconceptions; those of us who could not concentrate or sit still were punished. Many of us grew up with indigenous children who were silenced by sadness, likely scooped from their families. We didn’t know. We were busy studying the fall of the Roman Empire rather than our country’s history.
Gen-Xes grew up to reflect the gritty skepticism that would become a hallmark of our generation. Movies challenged traditional socioeconomic, gender, and racial roles. What was popular at movies in our formative years became a portal into the generation’s reality, and the common themes played out at the neighbourhood movie theatres. Gen-X movies have latchkey kids everywhere—examples of children whose parents were absent and they were raising themselves. The content of films had changed dramatically, and movies such as “The Day After” terrified us as the generation’s realities unfolded around us.
Gen-Xes experienced the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Aids, Zenith 1, 2, 3, space flight, the war on drugs, and three recessions. Making homosexual advances was a punishable crime. We experienced rapidly changing technologies during our teens, including rabbit ears, cable vision, telex, fax, personal computers, email, gaming technologies, and the Internet of Things. We watched the world turn from black-and-white to colour.
The effects of my upbringing have taught me the ability to be self-reliant, resilient and vocal. I have the ability to make my own decisions and have created my own financial successes. When things go sideways, I can always figure it out. I may have a bit of self-pity, but I am fiercely independent as a result of my generational upbringing.
