The Odyssey Years in San Diego

The Odyssey Years article by David Brooks.

This article articulates so many things about being a 20-something. I remember what a relief it was when I realized that all my anxiety about my career, love life, and future was also an anxiety that my peers were sharing. It was a revelation when I had breakfast with my neighbor for the first time and we discovered that we not only shared a wall, but that we also shared the same fears and worries about the future, and neither of us had in any way been prepared for the challenges of life post college. From the article "Old success recipes don't apply, new norms have not been established and everything seems to give way to a less permanent version of itself."

Life has stabilized a bit now as I approach the 30-something years, but I have to wonder what unforetold dangers lie ahead. I suspect that the real danger area is relationships especially if Brooks is correct that, "Educated women can get many of the things they want (income, status, identity) without marriage, while they find it harder (or, if they're working-class, next to impossible) to find a suitably accomplished mate." That is scary medicine especially when you factor in a healthy dose skepticism about the whole validity of the institution of marriage. It just means that women have to figure out---now more than ever---how to achieve happiness and fulfillment without men. Maybe this is an indication of the future for women of my generation. Perhaps it means that a lot more women will have time to get involved in their communities and shape meaningful policies for the betterment of all people. That is the bright side of things.

As far as San Diego is concerned it seems the Odyssey issues are only amplified by the unaffordable cost of housing, and the segregated culture and landscape that makes it next to impossible to meet and maintain connections with people.

Well, I'm working on it.