Generation What?

As young, ambitious college students who have grown up with the promise of the American dream, what do we do when we find out that our dreams are unachievable? What happens if we don't get the perfect job and have to take the first on we can find? How do our relationships with our parents, girlfriends, and boyfriends define us as we approach quarter life?

Generation What?, an anthology of essays of different aspects on the quarter-life crises explores these questions through the personal experiences of twenty-somethings. Out of all the book and articles I've read concerning the quarter-life crisis Generation What?has engaged me the most. While the essays may not be as poetic or beautifully written as 20 Something Essays by 20 Something Writers (another anthology of essays by 20-year-old writers), they speak directly and eloquently on the issues facing college graduates and 20-year-olds today.

From pregnancy in their 20's to going to war, these essays explore a variety of topics. However, the most striking come in the form of 20 somethings on the job-hunt. One essayist compares job interviews to flirt, however she claims that if an interviewer is disinterested, "he can't just walk away, disappearing into a crowded bar. Human resources doesn't say 'You're just not my type, but I think your friend's pretty cute.'" Another essayist gives of a description of his "quarter-life crisis vocation" as a "human-sized subway sandwich" whose job description involved giving flyers out "to people who were in arms length of me."

Reading these essays have given me concrete examples of the issues that compose the quarter-life crisis. I agree with the author, whose purpose in writing this book was to help 20-year-olds facing life crises with giving them essays they could empathize with, rather than advice they could easily ignore.