05-02-2019, 01:42 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-02-2019, 01:46 PM by AspieMillennial.)
(05-02-2019, 01:11 PM)David Horn Wrote:(05-01-2019, 04:29 PM)AspieMillennial Wrote: The first wave of GI were prepared for an entirely different world that vanished before their eyes. Imagine being born in 1907 and graduating from college in 1929. They were prepared for adulthood then the crash came on them and made all their preparation meaningless. People born before that were at least entrenched somewhere and people born after that had time to prepare for a depression mindset.
My parents were born in 1914, and graduated from high school in 1932 -- the depth of the Depression. For my mother, it was the end of nursing school, and further education in general. My father was a musician, and he was less affected, but still wary. He put down his horn, and got a civil service job as a fireman. Both squeezed every dime before it was spent, planning for their retirements. Neither made it.
This shows that sometimes failing the marshmallow test, where if you don't eat the marshmallow now then you're promised a bunch more later is the wise thing to do. If the future is uncertain, take what you can now no matter how unwise it seems. Don't listen to the promise of a future marshmallow you don't know is there. You never know if the now may crash and that's what this era taught me. Have fun before your bones rot and ache. I don't care if the world sees me as a failure or not.