entitled or earned?

There has been a lot of talk in the office about "our generation" vs. "their generation". Our being the twenty and thirty somethings vs their parents. Awhile back, I read this article about how the young, just starting to work in the real world generation of today views hard work, dedication and vacation time very differently than the parent generation. The article went on to explain how our generation watched our parents work hard, putting in full-time and over-time at one or sometimes multiple jobs. Our parent generation sees a "hard-earned" dollar and that work ethic took a toll on their family life and personal life in general. Therefore, when people of our age go in for a job, we focus on how long our work day will be, what type of vacation time do we get, and how much of our personal lives will need to be sacrificed. It was general concensus that both perspectives have valid points, but at what point does it all balance out?
One point that was made said that the graduates of today, undergrad, graduate, Ph.D, etc., feel that he or she is entitled to a higher position, simply because of the degree that came from their education. What happened to working your way up the ladder? What happened to putting in the time, the effort, the dedication to earn the CEO status? Do we have to get both the advanced education and climb the proverbial ladder?
Today's discussion stemmed from Jeffrey Lazslow's 2 articles "Blame it on Mr. Rogers: WHy young adults feel so entitled" and "The Entitlement Epidemic: Who's really to blame?". His articles suggest that children of today have been raised in an environment that encourages all children, an environment that maintains that each and every child is special. This "special-ness" sometimes takes in all behavior like a big blanket of special things. When a kid is running a race or swinging the bat, whether they win or lose, that kid is something special, just for being whoever they are. Well, if every kid is special than no kid is special, they are all the same sub-par little people with no competition to encourage them to differentiate from one another. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule and culture plays a distinct role in psychological processes. There will be that kid who thinks he is the best because that kid actually is the best and there will always be the low self-esteemed kid who missed that week's "you're special" speech and is subsequently okay with mediocrity.
Overly postive parenting, then, leads to direct results of an over-nurtured, expectant generation of people who believe they are entitled to a certain status due to a sense of "special-ness". In general, there needs to be a better sense of praise for that which deserves praise and encouragement to work harder to earn what you aim for, rather than simply praising all efforts in any direction.

Cirque du Hooray!

Ryan's birthday surprise weekend went beautifully. We stayed at a gorgeous (and massive) hotel. I booked the special gourmet breakfast, not realizing that since it was a Disney hotel, there would be characters wandering around saying hi to all the guests. I spent my breakfast trying to dodge the creepy petting of Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto. I was rather unsuccessful.

Circque du soleil was absolutely breath-taking. Ryan and I got all dressed up for the show. I decided this trip that I wasn't going to overpack. So I packed exactly as many shirts, socks, etc that we would need for the weekend. Well, that was the worst idea ever. On the way in to Orlando, it was pouring rain, so when we got to the hotel, we only brought out of the car what was necessary. We left our dress shoes and our snacks in the car, thinking we'd just grab the shoes on our way out to the show. It was still raining right before we left, so Ryan rolled up his pants and ran to the car to get the shoes. He accidently rubbed up against something and got his light khaki dress pants (his only dress pants that got packed, mind you) dirty across the front. We had to trek back to the hotel room where I hand washed the spots and then blow-dry-ed/iron-dry-ed the pants. And then, at long last, with blisters and wet clothes we arrived at the big tent.
I was so tense during some parts that I was holding my breath, silently willing the performers to land their jump, catch the bar, stay on the high wire, etc. Of course, they are very capable and everyone landed safely. All of their flips and throws and jumps seemed so unbelievable and impossible. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, live and in person, I'm not sure I would believe all the stunts.
All in all, the weekend was a blast. It's a little disappointing to be back in the daily grind. Looking forward to cruise week!

Oh the places you'll go

I have an itch to travel again. I've been to Canada (woohoo), 48 states, Australia, Fiji, the Philippines, Spain and Morocco. Yes, I realize that I have a cruise planned in the unbearably faraway future (120 days away) and I should be grateful for the fact that I can take the trip, but it has now been over a year since I've left the country. I miss the fun of planning a trip, catching planes and entertaining myself during layovers. I miss the excitement of a new city and the joy that is a homecoming. Paris? Italy? Great Britain? When will we meet?

In 8 days, Ryan and I will be off to a faraway land called Orlando. Yippee! Orlando for me is just a crazy world of lost people searching for Mickey Mouse. Despite it's low level (or absence) on the exotic scale, I am quite excited about it. If I am successful, it will be the first time I conjured up a surprise for Ryan and actually held my tongue until the point of actual surprise! I'm looking forward to the 2 hours on I75 armed with SoBe's, yummy snacks and some quality get-to-know-you time. I love our little stop in Okahumpka, getting lost every single time we come into Orlando no matter how many times we've come through (maybe a little out of tradition) and then lounge around once we land in the hotel.

In 28 days, my family and I sans my brother and his wife, will be leaving for our annual family vacation. A tradition that has held firm since 1994. I don't even want to think about how old I was in Nineteen Ninety-four, but that is how long I have been stuffed into a car, lived out of a tightly packed suitcase and got to know who the people in my family are. I've stood behind many a photo encouraged by my mother-ever the photo opportunist, I've rushed alongside my family members from one tourist trap to the next under my father's militant travel itinerary and shopped til I dropped in nearly every shopping mall, strip mall and tourist shop across the nation. You name the "USAopoly" location on the board, I have been there or will have been there soon. Huge redwoods? been there. Mammoth Cave? done that. Grand Canyon? Seen it, thrice.

In 120 days, I am on my way to the Western Caribbean! That's the big trip, nearly 2 whole years since my last escape from the states. I've tried to distract myself from the growing excitement, planning the Orlando trip, dreading the fam vacay, and wallowing in self pity. But the truth is, the end of the year holds so many more exciting things than the summertime! Seriously, the cruise, me and Ryan's 3 yr anniversary, Christmas!, and New Years. Summertime hardly stands a chance in comparison.

Now I just need someplace between 28 days and 120 days...google maps, here I come.

august 1

That is the first day of my new lease. The remarkable thing about this new lease is that it will be the first time i've ever renewed a lease in Gainesville. So, techinically it isn't a "new" lease, but who cares. I'm actually not moving this fall, which means I didn't spend the first 2 months of this year frantically searching for the! perfect! apartment! This is because I am happy with my current apartment, roommate and location. It's strange to not be packing or coordinating a move with work schedules and all that jazz. It's a new feeling.

changing perspective

I started this blog to catalog my life, so that when I wonder how I got to where I will be in 10 years, I will have some record of where I've been and how I felt as I "grew up". So, to continue the story tonight...

I finished It's a Wonderful Lie tonight. I definitely found it to be an eye opening a read. Just as I suspected, it gave me a renewed sense of excitement toward life in my twenties. I could picture a friend in her twenties who is living nearly every experience outlined across the novel. There was a piece of the life I'm living in each of the stories, too. I'm the girl who loves to travel, the one who is not satisfied with her job, the girl in love, the girl who wants to get out of the town that she knows like the back of her hand in search of something new and exciting, the girl who wants to get married and the girl who in a very small part of her heart wonders what it could be like to be single again. I am just a girl in my twenties, fumbling through my experiences, thriving in my triumphs and learning from every place I've been, emotionally, physically and mentally.

I remember that once I had this dream of living in a tiny 1 or 2 bedroom apt, making it easily on my modest salary, decorating shabby-chic room and exploring a big, exciting city. My dream now is mostly the same, except now it includes Ryan.

I am finally coming to terms with my current job because there is a closer promise of moving away, moving out of Gainesville. I am not stuck being a secretary, I am waiting for the next big thing. I didn't become a secretary just because, I became a secretary because I desperately needed to get out of banking. I met a bunch of fun people and I mostly enjoy my work days. My hours are decent and my weekends are fabulous and relaxing.

Now that my book is done, I am actually looking forward to going back to reading The Wheel of Time series.

More than meets the eye

Ryan and I went on a date last night. We had dinner, a movie and then got ice cream. It was quite lovely.

The best perk of dating a theater man is free movies and free popcorn. Our free movie last night was Transformers. I had been hearing that it was amazing since the day it came out and was very excited to see it. Not only was I not disappointed, but I was in shock as to how excellent the movie was. It was funny, action packed, not cheesy, good eye candy and held my attention from start to finish. Usually, when movies get talked up too much I find I'm not as thrilled as I hoped. But Transformers really blew me out of the water. It's definitely one that I am buying as soon as it's out on DVD.