tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3118083.post114171883791547737..comments2023-09-23T03:27:35.377-07:00Comments on my life...in, around and about the theatre | blogging at you since 2001!: IT SUCKS TO BE ME...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3118083.post-1143086831183333232006-03-22T20:07:00.000-08:002006-03-22T20:07:00.000-08:00When I first heard of "Avenue Q," I thought it was...When I first heard of "Avenue Q," I thought it was a musical about <A HREF="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=&ll=34.586796,-118.115559&spn=0.007331,0.014462" REL="nofollow">Palmdale</A>. Apparently I was wrong. Lame jokes aside...<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure that the "quarter life crisis" is a new phenomenon, nor that it's a conundrum. When I threw that term towards an older and wiser man, he responded that life is a series of crises, regardless of your age. While this might not be a comforting idea, there's a lot of truth to it. Life is a constant fight to "be," to achieve in the face of adversity.<BR/><BR/>I will concede, however, that the greatest of life's crises may be the one faced by younger people who are still idealistic and believe their lives can "mean something." A "quarter life," in the grand scheme of things, is just a beginning...and young people are eager to "start on the right foot." But that has been true for centuries, so I think our ancestors faced anxieties similar to the ones you and I face today.<BR/><BR/>What is different today is the way in which those experiencing the "quarter life crisis" were raised. Our parents, the Baby Boomers (and the generations that preceeded them) were instructed to conform to certain norms and to pursue a narrowly defined purpose in life. In a sense, we were raised without those boundaries, as our parents rejected the norms of previous generations and encouraged us to follow our own path. Living in the most powerful country in the world during its most prosperous and peaceful time, we saw no limits ourselves. But now that we're faced with so many options and so few constraints, we're overwhelmed with choices and unsure of what we should "be."<BR/><BR/>I think you describe the "quarter life crisis" accurately: finding a meaningful job, love and purpose in life. Frankly, I feel a lot of people give up the fight to find these things at some point in their lives, deciding that they must "settle," that they can't have it all. The resolution to the "quarter life crisis" for these people is the decision that they have to stop "becoming," which only leads to a sense of bitterness and disappointment.<BR/><BR/>Getting back to "Avenue Q," there's no doubt that it's tailored to our generation. We were raised to trust puppets and what they have to say. We came to appreciate a ribald humor that disregards "taboos" and speaks with an ironic honesty that previous generations would never appreciate. "Avenue Q" was made for us, and we must listen to what it has to say.<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen the show, but the lyrics you post tell me "Avenue Q" tells us two things: 1) We've got to make the most of our time on this planet and 2) Life is transitory. Perhaps we're giving ourselves too much importance, forgetting that our experiences in life aren't new and that we're part of things far bigger than we are. It makes our petty "quarter life crises" insignificant and challenges each of us to do something about it. If you want it, you have to make it happen. If you don't, history won't pity you...it will forget you.Mitch Glaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02474548144759342141noreply@blogger.com