Posted 4 years, 6 months ago in the early evening by oso
My dear friend Sparsh is now known as Sparky. I’m sure it’s an unwelcome development in his universe, but that’s what he gets for his 8 a.m. cheerfulness. On the corner of 7th and Driggs – in the world’s absolutely hippest neighborhood, Williamsburg, Brooklyn – he was quoted as screaming, “me, why does this always happen to me!!” He was pulling his hair out. And I was doubled over laughing.
This was the start to our trip. Revaz’s sister had bought tickets to the Broadway showing of Avenue Q, a puppet show with a sex scene. We had heard good things – too many – and so we hopped on the subway, marched through the always-anti-climatic Times Square, and walked up the steps of the old theater to our high altitude seats where the po’ people consume their culture.
Avenue Q was written by Robert Lopez and Jeff Mark. It follows Princeton, a recent graduate with a B.A. in English, who moved to Avenue Q in New York City with the hope of finding his purpose. It’s funny. And it’s funny because it’s true. The first song? “What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?”
True.
As it always is for a traveler, the most common question was, “so what are you doing in New York?” After a couple days of practice, my response became, “what am I not doing in New York? It seems like this is where everyone is.” So many of my friends – sadly, more than I was able to see – have come to this metropolis for one reason or the other. Or maybe they all come to this city precisely because they have no reason. Either way, I wanted to find out, so this became my line of questioning.
It only took two pitchers of sake to get it out of Moreno. I apologize for his manner of speaking; there’s nothing I can do about it.
Moreno (cigarette wedged above his ear, another dangling between his lips): “Jive this oso man, this here, it is like the cosmic centerness where the beats be happening, you dig? This be the crossroads, the karmic Mecca where tales are told. And by tales I mean, you know, bunny tales. And by bunnies I mean … you dig oso man?
Oso (legs crossed, as per usual, poet style, the way that elicits, “why do you sit like a fag” in junior high) “I’m not quite sure I follow. I mean, there’s gotta be something magnetic about this city right? Why do so many people come out here as soon as they’re done with college? It’s like the official graduation rite of all my friends. What are they looking for? What are they getting out of it? I mean, you guys never even leave Brooklyn.”
Moreno: Come on, little bear man, wutchyu gettin’ at? Why would I leave my slick barrio when the world comes to me man. Look around, you got a little of everything. You’s got the Jewish cats, the Polish cats, these fine looking Japanese cats here, and that happy-as-fuck Black man strummin’ all those Beatles tunes in the subway stop. Fuck, I like me the Beatles little bear … Where was I?
I poured Moreno another thimble of luke warm Sake and decided to take my investigation elsewhere. One of the great things about sharing your writing in a public space is that others feel emboldened to share theirs with you. Revaz’s sister, Rochelle handed me a piece she wrote about moving to the big apple. Here’s a ridiculously abridged version:
I moved to New York with all the idealism that accompanies a recent graduate in Global Studies.
We [had] spent the past four years in classes [at UC Santa Barbara] that made us challenge ideas and question the status quo. We read literature about the “counter-culture” of the sixties, the struggle of illegal immigrants, and the ongoing debate between religion and politics. And in the end, when our papers were returned and the A on the top of the page meant an extra pat on the back during Christmas break, we never thought to question whether we had really solved anything. Instead, our optimism was preserved and fostered in a way that would later backlash against us – as I was to learn.
It has been three months since I left California to embark on the pilgrimage toward the American dream that I had been taught to thirst for for so long. And I find myself sitting in the same rickety folding chair as I did on commencement day. But today I have been stripped of my liberal environment where I had once been encouraged to nurture such idealistic views. Now, I turn to the towering silhouette of the corporate world where the good paying jobs are the jobs I promised myself I would never succumb to. I read articles naming our generation “the twixters.” I believe that we are indeed a breed who as Lev Grossman puts it, is “reaping the fruit of decades of American affluence and social liberation.” To deny this would simply be false. But I also believe that “this new period is a chance for young people to savor the pleasures of irresponsibility, search their souls and choose their life paths.” It might be idealistic, but embrace it. At times I find myself thinking that I should have taken Professor McDonald’s advice and gone straight to graduate school. Perhaps taking a year off to travel would have been a better alternative. But then again – maybe it would just prolong the inevitable. Idealistic or not, I guess ya gotta kick off your sandals at sometime.
Rochelle’s is an experience that I think most of us can relate to. It’s not like career path confusion is something that didn’t exist prior to the 90’s, but she’s right, these days there is an unavoidable indoctrination of do-gooding idealism at the college-level before they throw you out into a job market where doing good almost inevitably translates to “grant-writer” or $20,000 a year office slave at some human rights organization. Twenty-three to twenty-eight … those are the years spent “seeking purpose.” That is, stalling. Until you have to either sell out (easily justifiable these days with en-vogue neoconservativism and libertarianism) or settle on grad school or teaching.
As the end of our purpose-seeking stint comes upon us, it’s been interesting to see which of my friends end up doing what. Financially speaking, some of them have made out pretty nicely. Others are broke, but still dreamy with optimism. And yet others have put off the ugly decision for another 5 – 6 years as they scratch their chins in various grad schools around the world. But the overarching sentiment that they all share is that this isn’t what they want to be doing in the long run. This isn’t their purpose in life. They’re just not quite sure what is.
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Interesting post. I’m a couple years ahead on the timeline, but it seems to be much the same, and essentially true for my experience. The “twixter” ratio of my peers starting declining a few years back. However, there was never a large percentage in the following groups:
1) First gen kids. I usually attribute this to the hard work & expectations put in by the parents. However, this can be driven only by culture – usually of the support-your-parents variety.
2) Oops I had a kid, kids. Married or had a kid early, dependencies put the nose to the grindstone.
3) I’m po’ & motivated not to be, and/or debt-that-could-choke-a-horse, kids. No outside support to “savor the pleasures of irresponsibility”.
For me, #3 was the reason to get started on a career. When I was finished school, loans decided my path. At the time, I wasn’t particularly happy about that. But looking back, I can see there were benefits to this path.
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[...] Over at el Oso, el Moreno and el Abogado we saw pictures of all three in NYC. And guess what, Moreno is, in fact, quite moreno. Oso also showed off his ethnographic writing skills and mused about why recent college graduates move to NYC [...]
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The last two paragraphs are awesome. It’s so damn true. It is comforting to know that I am not alone…pienso lo mismo.
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trying not to sell out but its a more attractive option than returning be an office slave at any nonprofit.
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Sell out early, buy a house when you’re 30. It’s a helluva lot easier than waiting.
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Anon is right, I am just lazy… now Happy Birthday Gabo!
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Thanks for getting my thoughts out there Oso and more importantly thanks for generating some thought provoking responses.
It’s funny because living in NYC, I find myself confronting the same dilemma over and over again: Should I pursue a career for money/security or STRUGGLE with a career I REALLY like/want. During the past 2 weeks I have been on 4 interviews in fields that are very diverse:
1. Executive Assistant= high salary, but totally and completely admin.
2. Production Assistant=low (and that is an understatement) salary, but totally up my alley.
3. Sales and Marketing= somewhere in the middle of my first two options
4. Temping for the rest of my life.
Thus, in the next few weeks I will again attempt to tackle the same question. I was recently given the advice, “as long as you are learning, making money, and having fun, in that order, that’s really all that matters.”
For me, somehow it is tends to be a bit more complicated…
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Austinites are renowned for doing both: living the creative life and having the 8to5 job for the bills.
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Interesting thoughts. I hope that people keep commenting with their opinions and experiences.
Chris,
Not that this is what you were implying, but I have a tough time believing that anyone is forced into steady employment. Even with debt, there’s still always the choice to be the bankrupt, wandering hobo. The couch surfer. Or the starving artist who gets by going from one temp agency to the next. But it’s still a choice.
With that said, I easily take for granted how lucky I am that my parents paid my entire college tuition. Even though I’ve worked steady and hard since I was 15-years-old, not one dollar of that money went to my classes, which in turn allowed me to save up my paychecks for traveling, etc. Then again, I never would have gone to college if I had had to pay for it and I haven’t used my diploma even once since graduation, but I know that – if need be – it could get me a $30K office job no problem.
Gustavo,
Seriously man, my hats off to you. HP, Sparsh and I were talking the other night about teachers, about how so many under-qualified people go into it because the rewards just aren’t enough. It’s good to know that someone like you – with a lot of brain and a lot of heart – is bringing up the future. In NYC there were advertisements all over the subway for a program called Teaching Fellows or something like that. You know – one of these Teach for America type programs that tries to get middle-class white graduates into urban schools. It’s easy to be cynical and critical of such programs, but I really can’t think of a better way to shape the future than shaping the individual lives of today’s youth.
Irasali,
Like Patri says, I don’t think it’s an either-or situation. Sometimes we probably try a little too hard to make our purpose the same as our identity. You know, “Bob, the environmentalist who is a nazi about recycling, drives a hybrid, works for a solar panel company, etc.” Not that those aren’t good things to be doing, but many times it’s for the sake of image more than for the sake of what actually gets done. I think that someone who works monday through friday at a bank and volunteers two days of the week at a youth shelter can probably be doing just as much good or more as a social worker who hates his/her job and does it just because that’s what he/she was trained to do.
Anon,
I couldn’t disagree more. If the baby-boomers did anything right it was putting off responsability until they were in their mid to late 30’s. (of course, they’ll soon be stealing all that money from my paychecks that disappears into “social security” but no hard feelings). I agree with you completely that the earlier you start investing in something that builds equity, the better. But for a 20-something, that is most certainly not a house. With a house comes the flat screen TV, the designer furniture, the hi-tech appliances, the property tax, upkeep, etc, etc. Not only that, but by the time you rack up your credit card debt buying all those toys, it’s time for your mid-life crisis and all you want to do is travel to a tropical place and have an affair.
The twenties are a marvelous decade. You’re never going to be more beautiful, healthier, full of a sense of adventure and wonder. This is a time to travel and experience the world. To learn another language … or two. To nourish meaningful friendships that are going to last you your entire life. And if you can manage to do all of that without getting into debt, all the better. If you can’t, well be smart about how you spend your money, retain a sense of purpose and drive, and the working world will always wait for you.
(With all that said, I should admit that I’m looking into buying property right now)
Logtar,
A raised glass for Gabo.
Rochelle,
Thanks for letting me share. As far as the job search goes, I’d take into consideration two things: 1.) what you want to be doing 20 years down the road and 2.) what you need the money for. If you have a specific career goal and you really believe in yourself, I’d say pay your dues now, focus on what you want, and stay persistent. Otherwise, if you start working an office admin job now and get used to the cozy pay, there’s a good chance that it’s what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life.
Besides, money shmunny. Poor people usually think I’m elitist and out of touch when I try to convince them how ephemeral wealth is. I’ve seen my parents go through bankruptcy in the 80’s, then buy a million dollar house during the 90’s biotech boom, and now scrape by with remnants of their 90’s wealth. And through all of it they remained too focused on the future and never enjoyed the little daily joys of life. Sometimes you drive a mercedes, sometimes you ride a bus, but if you don’t know how to enjoy life, it doesn’t matter how much money you’re making.
Patri,
I think that’s one of the reasons that Austin is such an attractive city. And probably also why so many Austinites are bloggers. Just about every week or so there’s one guide or another about “How to be creative and keep your 9 – 5 job” that makes it onto del.icio.us/popular. It’s obviously a topic that a lot of people are thinking about.
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I have to agree with Moreno. New York is the center of the universe. Period. I have a Nepalese friend who grew up in Kathmandu. Now he lives in Brooklyn and refuses to ever leave NYC. It is hard to even get him to come to Jersey.
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Oso said:
As you mentioned, someone could simply not make any money and mooch off other people, work under the table for scraps, or even something drastic, like flee to another country. At best those choices make life hard, and delay the inevitable. At worst these choices will cost a decade or more of your life to clean up.
Unlike other debt, student loans never go away. There is no statute of limitations. No matter how many times you declare bankruptcy, or try to disappear, you will always have the loans, and debt collectors hunting you down. Unless you manage to find work exclusively under the table, your wages will be garnisheed. If you ever decide to join the regular work force, your loans will still be there, compounding interest.
Defaulting on your loan trashes your credit for at least 7 years after the last date they updated your account (negotiation, repayment schedule, etc). You can get by with horrible credit – unless you want a cell phone, an apartment, to apply & get many jobs, utilities, a credit card, a car loan/lease, have cheaper insurance (though this is supposed to be illegal), or buy anything major (house, etc).
Sure you might say, but why not just pay the loans and do what you want?
I’ll use myself as an example. I took what part time work I could get through my entire schooling, except one semester. Depressing, and a bit above minimum wage. Burger flipper, gas jockey, computer repair, etc. My rent was relatively cheap, and I lived fairly frugally.
I had aprox 30k of debt when I graduated. 20k provincial/fed loans, 5k family loans, 5k line of credit. Unlike many kids, I didn’t have credit card debt. My minimum payments (i.e. 15 year pay-off) were aprox $600 per month. After taxes, living expenses, and loan payments, I needed to make around 25k per year. At the time, there was no way to pay my loans without steady employment & a career.
Did I have a choice? Of course. But I can’t imagine making a different decision.
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PS, another vote for Moreno. NYC is *the* city.
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“What do you do with a BA in English?” Leave the Land of Sellout Opportunities, try to fund your love of travel/adventure through teaching, end up being broke most of the time, but with dreamy idealism intact.
Coincidentally, I was rejected by the NY Teaching Fellows for overqualification last year (apparently you can’t have any kind of prior teacher training).
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Yes, well doc, you are actually doing some good there in Monterrey now. I was (we were) teaching uninterested business managers for multinational companies … which didn’t really have me feeling so idealistic.
Why doesn’t anyone ever tell me I’m overqualified for anything?
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I feel like such a fraud at times because I’ve never explored NYC. I always seem to continue on towards Barcelona, and every single time I say the same damn thing…“I’ll stay in NYC for a few days, then go to Europe” NYC I do crave thee!
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dear lord i feel this entry. i’m trying to find a job until i am ready for med school…and the world, the job world too, well it sucks.