Do you consider yourself to be part of a group? Before I became a teenager, I could not wait until I was actually 13 because this was a rite of passage I looked forward to. Practically speaking not much changed in my life from age 12 to age 13. I think I started to wear hosiery rather than white socks for dress up. But I began to identify with teenagers as well as all the messages Madison Avenue fed us about our hopes and dreams.
The same can be said about how I felt turning 21, 30, 40 and 50. However over the past couple of weeks I have been quietly asking people who are technically “Baby Boomers” whether they identify with this description or would use this word to describe themselves. Interestingly several claim they do not.
However those born between 1946 and 1964 are part of the baby boomer generation. But as I try to figure out what it is that we acknowledge and share with each other besides having been born during a period of gross societal change, it is occurring to me that if life did not treat you well, i.e you did not share in the good times, you may then be less wed to these identifiers.
Having said that, I am pretty sure there is no common definition of a baby boomer we might all agree upon except the time frame. We span the 40s, 50s and 60s. We are responding to different cues. But at the very least there are cultural cues we share. Otherwise we would not be able to have short-hand conversations with each other about certain feelings in response to say the Bay of Pigs, Elvis Presley, American Bandstand, or the Beatles if you happened to have had a television. Not everyone did.
Anyway, will you help me by answering one question? How do you think of yourself and if you had to align yourself with a group, which would it be.
Just put your answer in the comment section puh-leeeeze. And I thank you in advance for your help.
Dr. Chris Gelenter says
As a retired educator with 33 years of experience in public education and 20 years in public school administration, I am now an Independent Writer I have seen and experienced a great deal in life across the USA. As the son of a U.S. Air Force Military Intelligence Officer I had the opportunity to live in foreign countries as well. I am PROUD to be identified as a “Baby Boomer,” ie; I was born between 1946 and 1960. Like other “Boomers,” I lived through and observed warp speed advances in technology along with politics, fashion, values, beliefs, etc. To some extent I enjoy meeting and conversing with all ages and cultures although I admit that I understand other “Boomers,” better because of comon ground and travels. I choose to do a lot of my sharing through my writings and I still enjoy learning from others of all age groups. I don’t think that I would ever feel feel happy existing just among “Boomers,” even though I understand them more than other groups because life is about learning and growing. When I cease to do that I merely exist.
boomrwiz says
Warp speed advances and changes in technology, politics, fashion, values, beliefs Dr. Gelenter is what allows us to enjoy the company of people of all ages I believe. I too have friends of all ages but I find my younger cohorts are much more on the front edge of change. And I am addicted to embracing change. So I am so with you on your statement that you do not feel happy existing solely among Boomers. Thank you for visiting boomerwizdom. Please come back and share your wizdom.
Caryn/The Mid Life Guru says
I embrace being a baby boomer. It means I’ve gained a lot of wisdom and experience a long the way to share with those that follow me. I love being able to have a working memory of how things were and apply it to the fast pace of where things are going.
boomrwiz says
Thanks Caryn for your reply. I too embrace this period in my life and frankly have always thought of myself as part of the boomer generation. There was so much pride in this generation in our youth. We were thought to be game changers. And that in and of itself was reason to be proud. Now it is odd to see the daily mean-spirited coverage as tracked on my google alerts that lean to what sticks in the mud we are.
Not enough can be said about having a working memory, that is for sure. If you’ve never learned to think for yourself, I personally believe the speed of change today almost makes you obsolete. Well hadn’t thought about this seriously. Just popped out of my head. It is what I think however.