The Moment Nothing Was the Same Again

As a millennial, the moment I felt we had passed the point of no return as a society was when video screens were installed at the gas pump.

Screens have saturated our lives. I can’t even pump gas at the gas station without being bombarded with advertisements and the word of the day, which is always a word I have never heard anyone use.

When I asked my mother, who is a senior, if she had a moment in her life that was similar, she replied, “The pet rocks.”

Her sister-in-law bought one. “What a stupid waste of money. What’s wrong with people buying rocks?” This was 1975.

Maybe we all have moments when we realize things will never be the same. I have struggled with this for a few years now, and perhaps I'm having a harder time now because I've been avoiding social media for so long.

I didn’t get my first smartphone until I was 25, holding out for as long as possible until the satellite towers upgraded and my flip phone no longer worked. Yes, they were called flip phones before they were called dumb phones.

My mother is a savvy woman, and I value her opinion immensely. She said, “We have to learn to adjust.”

I’m sure that has been true for every generation. Things change, and not always for the better, but I’d like to think that, eventually, they will change for the better again. At least, that is what I like to think.

It’s easy to get going down a road of life only to realize it’s a toxic road. Sometimes it’s hard to turn around and come back, only to have to pick another road, not knowing how that one’s going to turn out either.

All I can say is I try to do my best every day, making the best decisions I can. I believe, “It’s not about what happens to you in life; it’s how you deal with it that’s important.”