You know how people like to say that they wish they’d been born into another generation? Ellen is convinced that she was meant to be growing up in the 50s, Dion is obviously a wanna-be child of the 70s, and Colton, for some reason, thinks it would have been more his speed during the roaring 20s. But me? I think I’m exactly where I belong.
Every time someone talks about wishing they could live in another era (Midnight in Paris comes to mind) I always think to myself- “Yeah, that would be cool, but then I couldn’t tweet about it”. My life is so completely intertwined with technology that I virtually would not be the same person if I was born into a different era. My entire identity is dependent on the constant forward flow of technology and social media.
Think about it. Who would I be without this blog, my YouTube channel, my Twitter account, and my iPhone? Sure, I’d probably still be a writer, but a lot of what I write about is hinged on the technology of my generation. Furthermore, without the internet, I would have never started writing as prolifically as I do now; blogging has given me a consistent excuse to just write, for the sake of writing. My novel Eugenia emerged from a blogging project. My senior thesis (which has changed again- hoo ra) is going to be written entirely in blog posts and instant messaging transcripts. My writing is inseparable from the world around me.
And besides, I haven’t been just a writer for a long time ago. Without YouTube and videomaking, I would have never found the confidence to join the debate team, having never considered myself a public speaker before. I wouldn’t have met my collab channel friends from all over the world, I wouldn’t have followed the Vlogbrothers and I wouldn’t have gotten jobs editing videos.
And if I didn’t have this website, regardless of its role in my writing life, I wouldn’t have considered pursuing a career in social media and web development, I wouldn’t have guest-posted on various websites which in turn would have meant that I wouldn’t have gotten a spike in internet recognition. I would have never had a marketable skill without the internet, and then where would I be?
I like the fast-paced era that I’m living in. I love that next year a new technological advancement will completely knock the socks off what’s currently cutting edge. And I love that I get to be a part of that, small or not. I was born into the correct generation, no doubt about it.
