In a lot of ways, as a 90s baby, I honestly think that I was raised with one of the absolute best generations. As children, I think I speak for a lot us when I say we grew up riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, and chasing the ice cream truck down the cul-de-sac with all of our friends from the neighborhood. We didn’t have a worry in the world except getting home before the street lamps came on so we didn’t get grounded from playing with our friends after school the next day.

As we got a little older, our childhood games started to advance. We all started to discover the magic in cellphones (my first phone was a razor flip-phone, as many of my friends had them also), iPods, Xboxes, Wiis, and so many more other cool gadgets began to rise in popularity. We traded in our rip sticks and swimming pools for staying inside all day glued to the couch and the television.

I think that this was such an awesome way to grow up because we got to experience it all in its own time. We have all the memories of a childhood when we spent every waking minute we possibly could outside, but we also grew up with technology, so we know how to work an iPhone. I look at my stepbrothers now, who are 5 and 11, and they are constantly playing Mario Brothers on the Wii, and if the iPad isn’t charged up, they just aren’t sure what to do with themselves.Don’t get me wrong, the youngest Matthew loves to jump on the trampoline, and he wants to participate in anything his older brother, Collin, excels at. Collin is quite the little soccer and baseball star. They are both active and healthy little boys, but it just isn’t the same.

I always say to myself, “My children will not be addicted to technology. They’ll play outside when they’re younger, just like I did.” Yet, is that really possible in this day and age? I want to give my kids the world and make sure they don’t miss out on anything. Is it really fair to know that all of my kid’s friends from school are going to have all kinds of technologies and gaming consoles, and keep them away from my own kids altogether? Of course not. Their time inside with technology will be limited, sure. I guess my point is that their childhoods will never be the same as mine, because the world isn’t the same.

My kids are never going to want to spend every waking minute outside like we did, because times have changed. While I love my generation and love the childhood that we had the chance to experience, there are also some things about my generation that I am not so fond of.

My generation has concocted the idea that is unattractive or uncool to show people their feelings or emotions. We have taken the notion that feelings are weakness to a whole new level. Our generation likes to poke fun of those who choose to stay loyal in a relationship and communicate their feelings to and about their significant other.

Life is much too short to keep one’s feelings bottled up, and I refuse to allow myself to be caught up in our generation’s idea of “strength” in “not caring”. Feelings and emotions are not weakness; they are human nature, and everyone should take the time to tell the one’s they love what is on their mind. While everyone is sitting around planning for tomorrow, we must all take a second to realize that tomorrow isn’t promised, and we need to take advantage of the time they have today.