Being “Cool For My Age” is the Best I Can Hope For Now
Cool is an elusive concept and one that I’m not sure I’ve ever held firmly in my grasp.
It always felt like something that I could aspire to if I chose. Provided I didn’t try too hard, of course. I took it for granted that the option was there.
But at the age of 52, it’s occurred to me that HMAS Cool has sailed and it’s probably quite a few years since it was in my port.
As a Gen-Xer, I don’t think I’m uncool yet — that territory is still fully inhabited by boomers as far as I can tell. But that doesn’t mean I’m in the race either. That’s currently contested between Millennials and Gen-Z.
I mean what even is Gen-X? It’s most notable for being ill-defined. Caught in the middle, the invisible glue that holds everyone else together and keeps things ticking over. I like to think Gen-X is amorphous enough to still hover around the edges of cool without embarrassing ourselves.
Cool is defined by the young. Whatever people in their twenties are doing will be cool by default.
It’s feeling like an increasingly unfamiliar landscape. Nowhere is the feeling more acute for me than when I venture into the world…
