When the Millennial becomes Obsolete

It is true that we shall grow old as our parents, this generation who has experienced so much transformation, who has lead the wave of digital evolution and social media revolution. We the young people, clad in body art in the form of septum piercings and colorful tattoos. It is true, yes, we represent the new. But what will become of us in the decades to come? As life progresses and our weary is more realized through age, will we still be the leaders of the global perspective? Or will our children take the reigns?

Surely, a new generation will come, one that us millennials will birth. With so much creation all around us in technology, art, media, and science, will we simply pass on the torch or will this collective fire rage within us until we make our earthly exit? Will the millennials will be studied similarly to the counterculturists of the 60s and the grungey rebels of the 90s? What will be our textbook definition? What will we be known for as our contribution, when the millennial sits in antiquation?

We are a passionate bunch with a touch of defiance and an honest dose of empathy. We call the world how we see it. We have gotten so used to seeing everything and everybody at their best even if in reality it does not exist continuously as such. Through quadrilateral frames we express who we are and how we relate, so much of ourselves written in digital ink becoming saturate. Sometimes I wonder whether we all take the time to feel the things around, share a love and enjoy the weather without a care for fortune or fame... sometimes I wonder if in our old age will we look back and wish we had taken the scenic route? Yet we are programmed for efficiency, who has time for such luxuries? We are surely on a freeway back and forth. Does that leave us without direction or skills to navigate? Does the heart inside the millennial work more like the brain, with synapses and memories and receptors all the same?

Will we still be on Earth? Will we reside in nursing home suites on Mars? Could we teleport or ride our space cars to our children's soccer games? Will we still stand tall, and shout with might at injustice? Or will we just grow weary, weary of stimulation and change... in our old age, will we regret not grasping onto the moments and the days that make us feel most alive? Will we work ourselves to permanent exhaustion and exist in limbo, somewhere between death, and remember our own parents as they struggled to adapt to the times? Will our wisdom help us appreciate or haunt us like a nightmare? I swear there's not an emptier feeling than to no longer be needed for the work you do or by someone/thing you love. Will we even need to type, text, tweet with fingers? Can we talk telepathically through advanced brains or microchips implanted? Will we update our snapstories with our three meals a day, staring out the window while the new children play? What will become of us... when we millennials become obsolete? 

One thing is for sure...we will love our children and teach them to be fearless. Expression will know no boundaries. The world may come together. The fate of the world is determined everyday yet it cannot be denied that the youths of the world will always play their song and hear their beat. They'll sing and dance not for followers but for spirit. They'll laugh at our obsession with screens and materials...they just may be the ones to save the world. To prevent self-destruction, to cleanse society of vice, to breathe a fresh air that warms our hearts when they call out mom or dad. Maybe then we will know our parents sorrows of sacrifice, maybe then we will finally thank our elders for never giving up on a youthful dream. Maybe then we will find heaven around and tears of joy will be restored. The millennial will one day expire, but we still have time left to inspire a whole new wave of stars fallen down, teach these little ones to prance atop the ground. We'll tell them to be honest that's the least we can do, before we depart we have parenting to do.

I wish us all the heavens and stars, to grant attention instead of suck it dry in selfish retreat... we will face the final curtain, wave goodbye to all we see...this when the millennial becomes obsolete.

1000 words on 1000 words per day - Road to the Novel

As a freshman at Dodge College, I jumped at the opportunity to take an advanced TV writing course 'Seminar in TV Writing' with a successful writer/professor Lee Marshall. Lee could not stress enough the significance of writing every day or at the very least every week for the procrastinators out there. "The writing will not create itself and it matters not what you write so long as it is written." Not a direct quote from Lee but that was basically the main point of his practice.

We would come into our weekly 3 hour class (at 1 pm on a Friday in college in SoCal, attendance was an extreme effort in itself) and hand in our "Morning Pages" or "Napkin notes" as he would sometimes call them, for back in the ancient time before instant access to the Notes apps on any smartphone, Lee would write down little bursts of creativity on the paper napkins at a diner, cafe, or restaurant he was at. I guess he must have eaten out a lot. Anyway, the morning pages were 10 single-spaced 12 point font sheets of computer paper which Lee didn't actually read. "It's just to prove to yourself that you can write every day/week. It's for you, not me, to make a habit out of your craft." Good thing he didn't read them because most of what I wrote was complete trash.

5 years after the fact, the principle remains true and instilled within me. The key for me is to set a tangible goal with my writing in order to track its progress clearly and also to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Now I am not a professional writer at this point in my life, but as someone who is really trying to make this possibility a reality, this creative potential into a commercial success, I've found that Lee was absolutely spot on. 1000 words a day for two months could get you your first novel. 1000 words, by the way, may seem like a lot, but right before the last comma I was already up to 338 and now am heading to 400 by the end of this paragraph. Most of my favorite novels range in the 60-70 thousand word spectrum and I'm sure many of yours are in that general vicinity. 1000 words a day for two months CAN get you a first draft of a novel so long as you take no days off. But once you get into the groove of 1000 words, and realize that it's really not that impressive of a feat, in two weeks you'll have 14,000 words, perhaps 5-6 chapters of medium length, and that stack of pages alone will be enough to get you through those days when you would rather donate an organ that write one more damned word.

The point is that when anyone tries to do something they are passionate about but takes a great deal of effort and consistency, you must break up the task into sections that you can realistically achieve. This enables you from the start to approach the task honestly and further reflect your honesty into your work. Take the pressure off yourself. "Writing is hard enough. Don't make it any harder." Have your spot for writing, preferably a place in your home or office, a sacred desk that symbolically is a shrine for your worship or confession, depending on your selected genre. Write that self-help book or purge out your gloomy depressed thoughts. It doesn't matter at this stage because it's only for you. Lee didn't read my morning pages so who cares what I've written? Once you make writing a habit, master it into simply another task on your daily to-do list, I promise you the real juice of your story, plot, and characters will ripen and be flavorful, so much so that you'll have others coming back for more. And just like that, in 1000 words a day, you can remove the 'aspiring' from your self-description and be known as a real writer, ie one who writes and not just one who dreams of writing.

Many people who struggle to reach their potential as artists often feel stuck due to unideal circumstances. Whether it be not having the time to write (easy, sacrifice one tv show per day and poof there's at least an hour), not having the environment to write (the disciplined artist can create anywhere, somewhere in the wilderness in a log cabin - hey thoreau! - or in the middle of a crowded coffee shop or workplace), or simply lacking the ideas or motivation to write (watch a TED talk on writing or read a chapter of your favorite book - inspiration is all around), anyone who is serious about being a professional writer must simply detatch themselves from the infinite number of reasons of 'why I can't write right now.' Granted, I am a single 23-year-old with an apartment typically to myself and a great library over in Cambridge, work part time and don't have any familial responsibilities yet, so I understand it might be easier said than done for me. But I understand that I will not always have this luxury of 'free time' - in January I plan on having a 9-5 salaried position which will require my creative and visual attention. What about the lunch break or the missed dinner date in order to stay on task with my goal? It is true...to achieve what some may call the 'impossible' one must make sacrifices here or there. Your friends and tv shows will still be there for you, I promise, once you have finished. But then, after the first novel comes the second, and third and so on until you wake up to go to your first meeting with a literary agent, your first book signing, your first journalistic interview and bam. All of a sudden you made a career out of your dream. And your future self will thank you. And Netflix and your cat will forgive you. 1000 words a day. No shortcuts. No excuses. No pressure. 

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