This post about the obstacles of living in the Pinterest Generation originally appeared on Arkansas Women Bloggers as part of my Miss April 2014 series. I wrote the content as a contributor to their site at the time.
Every generation has a title; a label placed on them usually by the generation that follows. These labels are full generalities and certainties found generic of the largest portion of this age group. We all know them – The Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials and Gamers (even my spell check wasn’t familiar with this one).
Best sellers, sociologists and educators try with invigorated rigor to “discover” the differentiating factors that tend to lead us all to a narcissistic, defensive place of not letting that label truly define our age group. And, I’ll admit, I’ve been and often still find myself among the groups of people fascinated by these generalities. I mean after all, there has to be something that explains why the large majority of us, in the core of who we are, are from the “world” we grew up in.
I’ll even go further and admit that during my years as Director of Admissions Counseling at the best college ever, I would look up the Beloit College mindsetson the incoming class. I wanted to know “who” they were, what they had always known and what had never existed to them. I’m fascinated with generational studies and if I were to ever go back to get my Master’s Degree it would probably hit that topic (I’m a complete nerd if anyone wants to pay me to go back to school!!!).
But, I’ve been thinking recently about those “things” that influence and morph our generation to fall into all these stereotypes. After all if I look at the description of the class of 2004, I’m reminded that we have always lived in a world where you could reproduce DNA in a laboratory, money always could be retrieved from an ATM machine, McGruff (a brown furry dog who walked upright in a detective trench coat) told us that smoking was really not a wise choice and we were all plagued that the world would end the year we graduated high school (#Y2K…could have been such a good way to start “the hashtag”!).
With the rise of social media and the development of all these incredible communication tools, I’m continually perplexed by one…Pinterest. Yes, I have one and yes I got sucked into the home design ideas, garden party recipe board and I even pin things for someday when I might get to say “I do”. But, it all makes me wonder…
What will they say of the Pinterest Generation? Will they think we were super creative? Will they think our kids had the best birthday parties? Will they be amazed that we used an inordinate amount of burlap to throw and host weddings (can’t imagine the bell curve there)? Or, will we even remember in 3 years that we all had a slew of cheeky named “boards” that we “followed” and “contributed” to, all while trying to be the best version of whatever our current project held.
I mean think about it. My mom and I used to have to look through a 30 year collection of curriculum books in the summer to work on her preschool lesson plans for the next year. If I wanted to plan a party, I had to stroll the aisles of my favorite craft or Hobby Shop and cross my fingers that the girl who sat in the cubicle next to me at work could make something in Microsoft Publisher I could cut out and tape on construction paper to drop in the mail for my party. I don’t even want to know what Emily Post would say about my vintage chic collection conversation in the dorm room planning my college roommates’ wedding. And yet we’ve done it. We jumped hook line and sinker into a world of perfection. We ladies, and yes even a few gents, have taken the plunge and built ourselves into a box of comparison, value, and mis-measured self-worth.
I love to be as creative as the next girl. I like having one place to go to look for tablescapes, Easter menu ideas and spring trends. It’s convenient to carry all these on that smart, little device I carry in my back pocket. How great it was last week while I was stuck in an airport to have something “to do” (talking to my friends and people watching would just have been too exhausting). But, I want to be cautious and I want to be careful of the new measurement stick I’ve picked up.
We need a good reminder that our kids will remember that they had an awesome 3 year old birthday party even if the cute homemade tutu didn’t get made. A fruit salad at my backyard party will taste just as good as the rainbow fruit skewers I might be finishing at midnight (and less coffee and that puffy eye roller won’t have to be used). My sister got married in December without us actually doing anything we pinned last summer. You can’t be afraid to walk into Charming Charlie’s and just pick out a necklace. They wouldn’t be selling it if it wasn’t trendy.
So, what do YOU think they will say of the Pinterest Generation? (I told you I was going to ask for some input this month!) Prude? Perfectionist? Pretty?
Let’s gather the ideas, but make it ok to go to Brookshire’s and make it happen. Let’s dream big, but realize our friends might have even more fun if the party doesn’t look like its ready for a Martha Stewart Living spread. And for Pete’s sake, it’s still ok to call your mama for her corn dip recipe instead of trying to decide if a complete stranger has a better one. I mean how can you go wrong with Rotel, corn and cream cheese!
