Sometimes, I’m so glad I was never this idealistic. I never once thought that I would find “The One” on my first time out. I never lived a fantasy life in my head of traveling and idealizing things that I had no real idea about.
It’s interesting to now be writing about this article, after reading/writing about how homophobia hurts straight men. I’ve always wondered what people think of when they read books by the Lost Generation, that generation of the grew up during WWI, affected by the war. From my understanding, this was essentially a generation who lost their youth – having had to serve in WWI or at least witness what was going on. It’s not about a carefree lifestyle, but rather a general disaffection towards society and societal norms. Expats in France are what we traditionally think of when we think of the Lost Generation. Their disaffection comes off as being aloof and romantic – moving from place to place without any worries.
To bring it up to modern times, they are a little bit like hipsters – mobile, untethered lifestyles, attempts to be at the forefront of culture. However, the Lost Generation has a reason behind their attitude. To witness something of the scale of WWI can severely affect anyone – they are firsthand witnesses to the effects of war, be it losing a loved one or fighting in the war itself. Their response is to live life to the fullest – to experience things that they haven’t before and may never get to.
I’m unsure about their thoughts on love. Do they take the same approach to love as they do with their careers and experiences? Do they jump from one love to another, wanting to experience as many different versions of love as possible? I would think they would drag the love of their lives to everywhere they go, ceaselessly jumping from job to job, country to country. This is such an idealistic lifestyle – nothing can really come out of it.
I feel that we have an innate need to settle down sometimes. I don’t mean the American dream of the white picket fence and the the 2.5 kids and dog. But that we all feel that urge to have some normalcy in our lives. At this point in my life, I don’t think I can deal with permanency. I love the idea of being able to pack up and leave at a moments notice. I hate that I’ve tied myself down to items – I’m such a materialistic person and it makes me feel terrible. I idealize the technomads for what they do, but can’t really imagine myself doing that.
Perhaps later on in my life, I will get that urge. I will feel the desire to settle down with a loved one. It could happen soon, it could happen later. Right now? I’m just trying to live life…Everything’s gonna be okay….
Source: Would Hemingway Cry?