Youth in Desult

No, 'desult' is not a word.
Yes, I do think it should be one though. 'Desultory' is 'lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm', so naturally there should be a form of the word that isn't an adjective, but a state of being - and one quite a few of us are in nowadays. I know few people who actually have clear plans that are realistic for the future. I know fewer people that are exercising these plans with a specific purpose in mind, or at least if they have a purpose it is something that I feel is missing the mark. Common examples I think of are: "Money" ( to be spent on what?), "to be successful" (successful in doing what and for what satisfaction?) or, my personal favorite, "because that's what you're meant to do" (I presume these are the kids who didn't go through that annoying yet necessary stage of asking 'why?' as irritatingly as possible to every single statement they could). Even in those who have a clear purpose, there is a severe lack of enthusiasm for anything regarding the plan or the purpose in the first case, or the enthusiasm eventually wears off into a state of perceived necessary monotony for life to continue meaningfully.

This generation is Youth in Desult. The vast majority of us is missing one or - if you're lucky enough to be like me - all of these things. We went through the steps in our youth because they made sense in the system we were taught. "Oh ____, just do whatever you love, whatever you're passionate about, and everything will work out fine!" - we couldn't go wrong, could we? Now either you got good grades, did well on your tests, went to university, and now Voila! You're unemployed, homeless or still unable to stand on your own two feet properly and struggling to find a decent wage, or you have a sweet office job with a nice paycheck and... well,when the hell was wearing a suit and grovelling to your boss supposed to be your biggest concern for your 20's? and where did paying off student loans factor into that grand design? The alternative is that you couldn't fork over the paycheck for college, or really didn't care to go, so you got a job busting your ass, and you now work overtime every week to pay your rent and only have a small handful of friends that you see once every one or two weeks because you can't really afford to do otherwise. That isn't to say there are some lucky fellows who got to do what they want to do from the get go, have a decent wage, and go home feeling proud of the work they've done, and entertainment every weekend fits nicely into the budget scheme - they're just in the minority... and if history has anything to say in regard to that issue, they've got better things to do than read about this bitter limbo that they've fortunately managed to avoid.

So we have arrived at the cause of Youth in Desult - our expectations were set too high, or our dreams too big, or our uniqueness too much of a priority, or we were told we were too special and got complacent, or it just made too much sense to work out nicely and we never really had a plan B. This blog, however, isn't a manifesto on how shitty the world is, how everyone is against us, how and why the system blows, or how we will put into effect idealistic political fallacies that will entice our thoughts and have a lovely after taste of self-indulgence, but are ultimately ineffectual for the time being. This is about the experience: this is the story of Youth in Desult, the wanderings to new places, silly enjoyment despite the act's stupidity, the chance opportunity for indulgence in items far too expensive for us to enjoy typically, taking solace is small relative wonders that few others could find meaning in, and the crushing defeats and misguided efforts that rain down a horrid sense of insecurity and confusion on all of our heads.

Finally, I suppose there's one last issue to address... and its 'Well... why is this important? For what reason do we need to hear about this crap?' It's simple really... why go through Youth in Desult alone, when, at the very least, we can learn from one another? Lets compare notes, and find a way to those goals. We don't have to be Youth in Desult; it just takes some help, a boost in confidence, a bit of advice and laughter, or a plain and simple stroke of luck to get us into the Goldilocks zone. So I reckon I can at least give that a shot, or else end up exactly where we started, with nothing less to show for it.