Lifestyle

The Things Our Generation Should Be Concerned With

by Ally Batista
Stocksy

Generation-Y loves living in the moment. This is perhaps one of the best aspects of being a somewhat young adult. These years are the greatest of our lives, so we should absolutely embrace them and take advantage of all they are worth, but sometimes… people take this concept too far.

Almost everyday I hear conversations, see things on the internet or in person that have such pure ignorance and disregard for one's well being that I can't help but get upset. Some people our age live this “get fucked up and don’t care” lifestyle to such an unnecessarily high extreme that I fear they won’t be able to remove themselves from when it's time to be a grown up and focus.

I’m not saying that everyone our age acts in this manner, but for those who do, here are a few things that you should be concerned with, right now:

Futures

Right now we’re either entering college, in college, or graduating from it. I’m sure your primary objective is to enjoy these years and live them up to the fullest (with the occasional studying and test taking interrupting). This is the only time where we’re lucky enough to have our parents pay thousands of dollars a year for us to go out and enjoy ourselves every single day. Why not act recklessly and create a few stories to tell?

This only becomes a problem when you honestly believe that this time in your life requires no planning whatsoever. I have met far too many 20 something year olds who still don’t know what they want to do with their life, plan on picking up their high school part-time job when they graduate, live at mom and dad’s for a few more years and worry about their futures when they’re 30.

I cannot think of a worse situation to put yourself in.  If you’re a senior in college, even a junior, and have not once seriously thought about where you’re going to be post-graduation, stop what you’re doing right this second and start thinking about it. Make a plan for yourself, because you don’t want to be 24 years old waiting tables at Applebee’s looking forward to your local bar's happy hour.

Reputation

Like I said, if there’s any time to act recklessly, it's now. Go out and party as much as you want… but make sure it’s done in a responsible fashion. No one our age seems to care about his or her reputation. As liberal as our society has become, judgment and impressions still play a very big role in how your life unfolds.

Yes, you’re young and in control of your own body and mind, and yes, you may not have an addictive personality, but I promise you, that's no excuse for not having the common sense to care about what others think about you.

Split a bottle of Grey Goose and blow lines of coke all night with your friends, sleep around if that’s what you want to do, but realize that people don’t forget those things.

Everyone talks, and you have no idea how many times I hear, “That girl was a slut” or “That guy was a full blown drug addict” , in reference to people who have since cleaned their act up. Your actions will follow you for the rest of your life, so think twice before you do something stupid, and most importantly: think about who's around you.

What you’re doing right now

Which brings me to my final point. Everyone should seriously take a second to think about what their partying will do to their bodies. Everyone our age goes out and parties on the weekend, but does anyone think about what fifteen shots of vodka three times a week will do to their bodies in the long run? Even recreational drug use can rack up some serious long-term medical problems. Promiscuity is another thing to consider.

Are you being careful and healthy? Start thinking about these things now, because while you may think that you know what's best for yourself,  no one wants to live in regret from poor choices that could have been prevented fifteen or so years ago.

Ally | Elite.

Photo Credit: Getty Images