mike.chuanshi
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A little compare and contrast:
I started scuba right after I started skydiving, and if the "scuba is for old dudes" thing being discussed on here is true (which I'm not convinced it is), then the sport of skydiving is the opposite - with guys jumping from balloons on the edge of space, wingsuits, and base jumping, skydiving is definitely "in." Yet there are very few people under 30 jumping out of planes - for the same reason I think a lot of people under 30 aren't diving from boats: too little money.
Older generations who have had money in the bank and attained job security years ago seem to be a little out of touch with reality. That is to say that things are not what they used to be: the job market isn't thriving like it was before, you can't get a good job without at least a bachelor's degree (and in most cases you need a master's), universities are ridiculously expensive, student loan payments suck up a paycheck nearly as fast as rent, the gas it takes just to get to a job day after day is a major expense, and in many cases kids are moving back in with their parents because they can't make ends meet - much less buying up houses, starting families, paying off their debt, moving up in their job fast enough to get good pay and weeks of vacation, and then taking off to the tropics for a some diving after buying up a bunch of costly c-cards and dive gear.
There seems to be a widespread belief that those individuals in Gen Y, along with those making up a sizable chunk of Gen X, are having difficulty because of an obsession with technology, having been spoiled, being lazy, having a sense of entitlement, etc. From what I have seen through my own experiences, however, is that any of these qualities that can be seen in younger generations are there because they were passed down from their parents (and more recently their grandparents). Look at the cases of parents going to job interviews with their kids. Go to a school and listen to the parents complain about how the teachers are so terrible for expecting kids to have earn their grades.
Let's be honest - it was the G.I. Generation and the Silent Generation who busted their butts because they had to, and they created a better life for all of us. The fruits of their labor have started to run out (and it's only because there were so many that our society didn't run out sooner), the original spoiled *** little brats are still sitting comfortably on the cushions the great generations provided for them, and the younger individuals are having to come to terms with the fact that the indoctrination they received from their parents (and some younger grandparents) was delusional at best. Who woulda thunk you actually had to put effort into getting an education, invest in your future, and work to make a living?
For those younger individuals who are on here because they worked their butts off and who are not sitting at home with a bunch of gear their parents bought for them: hats off to you. Keep doing what you're doing and help the delusional members of society get their heads out out from where the sun don't shine. Put your hard-won advanced degrees to good use, because quite honestly you don't have a choice if any of these huge problems caused in recent history are going to be fixed.
And when you need to recharge: DIVE DIVE DIVE!
I started scuba right after I started skydiving, and if the "scuba is for old dudes" thing being discussed on here is true (which I'm not convinced it is), then the sport of skydiving is the opposite - with guys jumping from balloons on the edge of space, wingsuits, and base jumping, skydiving is definitely "in." Yet there are very few people under 30 jumping out of planes - for the same reason I think a lot of people under 30 aren't diving from boats: too little money.
Older generations who have had money in the bank and attained job security years ago seem to be a little out of touch with reality. That is to say that things are not what they used to be: the job market isn't thriving like it was before, you can't get a good job without at least a bachelor's degree (and in most cases you need a master's), universities are ridiculously expensive, student loan payments suck up a paycheck nearly as fast as rent, the gas it takes just to get to a job day after day is a major expense, and in many cases kids are moving back in with their parents because they can't make ends meet - much less buying up houses, starting families, paying off their debt, moving up in their job fast enough to get good pay and weeks of vacation, and then taking off to the tropics for a some diving after buying up a bunch of costly c-cards and dive gear.
There seems to be a widespread belief that those individuals in Gen Y, along with those making up a sizable chunk of Gen X, are having difficulty because of an obsession with technology, having been spoiled, being lazy, having a sense of entitlement, etc. From what I have seen through my own experiences, however, is that any of these qualities that can be seen in younger generations are there because they were passed down from their parents (and more recently their grandparents). Look at the cases of parents going to job interviews with their kids. Go to a school and listen to the parents complain about how the teachers are so terrible for expecting kids to have earn their grades.
Let's be honest - it was the G.I. Generation and the Silent Generation who busted their butts because they had to, and they created a better life for all of us. The fruits of their labor have started to run out (and it's only because there were so many that our society didn't run out sooner), the original spoiled *** little brats are still sitting comfortably on the cushions the great generations provided for them, and the younger individuals are having to come to terms with the fact that the indoctrination they received from their parents (and some younger grandparents) was delusional at best. Who woulda thunk you actually had to put effort into getting an education, invest in your future, and work to make a living?
For those younger individuals who are on here because they worked their butts off and who are not sitting at home with a bunch of gear their parents bought for them: hats off to you. Keep doing what you're doing and help the delusional members of society get their heads out out from where the sun don't shine. Put your hard-won advanced degrees to good use, because quite honestly you don't have a choice if any of these huge problems caused in recent history are going to be fixed.
And when you need to recharge: DIVE DIVE DIVE!
