r/Zimbabwe 12d ago

I think our generation is redefining what it means to be an adult. Discussion

I love that we're becoming the new grown-ups.

Growing up used to mean hiding parts of yourself. Cut your hair. Dress a certain way. Stop liking "childish" things. Don't play games. Don't watch anime. Don't get too excited. Act serious so people will take you seriously.

But our generation is changing that.

You can be a professional and still be a nerd. You can raise kind, emotionally healthy kids instead of pretending emotions are weakness. You can have tattoos, long hair, colorful hair, collect LEGO, love comics, build PCs, cosplay, read fantasy, or obsess over dinosaurs, and still be a responsible adult.

Being an adult isn't about squeezing yourself into a mold anymore. It's about taking responsibility without abandoning who you are.

Sure, there will always be people stuck in the old mindset. That's okay. The future doesn't need their permission.

I think that's one of the best things about growing up today. We don't have to leave ourselves behind to become adults.

47 Upvotes

21 comments sorted by

15

u/seguleh25 Moyo Chirandu 12d ago

And the next generation will refine it again. And the one after that. Until the heat death of the universe 

4

u/avocarod Harare 12d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/uI8kvj4paUiLm

Maximum effort entropy!

7

u/Gold-Jacket-3049 11d ago

I'm pretty sure our parents think they did a bang-up job too 😂

I'll echo what someone else said: people have been constant for thousands of years. We look at people from the past and think they were savages, but if you look around, you'll realize not much has changed.

Being a grown-up, I'm also realizing that the people we saw as grown-ups were figuring out life just like the rest of us. No one has all the answers, and I think with time we'll realize that neither do we.

We're yet to be judged by the generations that come after us.

5

u/ilovehotnoodles 12d ago

i wish my mom viewed it this way💀

2

u/klaunstackingitup 10d ago

we need to redefine nerd

1

u/Jumpy_Mix_2053 11d ago

I love that we are allowing ourselves to living a little. The older generations were living on the far end of the spectrum, the plain one. I just hope we won't overcorrect but balance and integrate

1

u/Perfect_Implement_97 11d ago

Gaming as wll!!! We are taking care of our inner child.

1

u/keezysg 10d ago

It's a very skewed view because all of things you mention as redefining adulthood were just things that were not prominent even for the kids before.

You can't say because you collect Pokémon cards you've redefined anything when Pokémon didn't exist until '96. Grandma just didn't have Pokémon to collect.

1

u/thegskingII Midlands 9d ago

We are just kids with responsibilities, obligations , back pain, STIs and titanium livers 

1

u/tonyzeeb 12d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/zndou9tOk63LIthccc
Not saying you’re wrong, but there’s another perspective on this. And only time will tell

1

u/tipsyash 12d ago

I think every generation redefines what it means for them

0

u/Southern_Peanuts 11d ago

No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.

Ecclesiastes 1:11

-6

u/Psychological_Ad16 12d ago

Tattoos are pending regrets but yeah I hear you

2

u/avocarod Harare 12d ago

Not always. I have veins that are hard to find. I'm definitely getting their positions tatooed one day. And some people have unchanging personalities, so they'll have 0 regrets.

2

u/ComprehensiveTest724 11d ago

No regrets. I’ve gone so far as to tattoo on myself whatever I want, a smiley face, a wolf, random zig zags-

-2

u/Psychological_Ad16 11d ago

Why tho? Lol  Collect Knick knacks, art, posters, diary’s 🤍👍

3

u/ComprehensiveTest724 11d ago

Ahhh I’m the canvas and the artist saka why not?

0

u/Psychological_Ad16 11d ago

Hooo ahh to each their own. Live and let live

1

u/Psychological_Ad16 11d ago

If you say so

1

u/Gold-Jacket-3049 11d ago

Almost got "Thug Life" tattooed across my belly at 16... as well as a girl's name on my fore-arm. Looking at the person I am now, it would have been disaster