I’ve been thinking it was already September for the past week.
It’s that awkward time of year when it’s a high in the low 80s but a low in the high 50s, so should I wear a hoodie and be hot some of the time or go without and be cold some of the time?
My parents reference a lot of things from the 1940s and 1950s because of their parents, so I make the same references. It makes me feel simultaneously old and cultured. I grew up recognizing the impressions (at least the majority of them) on Looney Tunes. That’s the true litmus test for culturedness.
There are exactly three weeks between the two trips my husband and I are taking soon. That’s just under the amount of time I’ll have to check out a book on Libby and later return it. When I check out a book for the first trip, it’ll be due the day we leave for our second trip. I’m going to need two books. This upsets me more than it should.
I’m currently in the middle portion of my novel. The part I’ve seen writing advice YouTubers describe as “sagging.” It feels like a metaphor for life. It’s where all of the important stuff happens! But it’s also slow to write and hard to stay motivated.
Every time I hit the next big palindrome word goal, I feel like I could fly.
A lot has been said about Millennials. Too much, probably. We just want to live, but every time we turn around, we’re being blamed for something by Boomers or looked down upon by Gen Z (so the articles would have you believe anyway… what generation is writing those articles, though, hmm?)
As a card-bearing Millennial — it’s called an I.D. card — I can assure you that we’re hard-working, stressed out, and kind of done with the whole generation debate. We graduated college and entered the workforce at a terrible time. Most people I know who got jobs after college were working retail or waiting tables, or both. Being able to afford things was a constant struggle. Living with one’s parents, though not great, was the only way to stay afloat, and moving out of their houses was no walk in the park either. Unless you live in a place with low rent or mortgage rates.
But this post isn’t about complaining. I just wanted to start with some perspective.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the changing landscape on the Internet. Homestar Runner and StrongBad were bickering. Badgers and snakes were badgering and snaking around. When I first started using Facebook, it was only available to people who were currently in college. MySpace was a serious rival, with its customized profiles and annoying autoplay music. I started using Twitter in 2006, back when it was used for people to share their inane, random thoughts. YouTube was random and silly. Things were fun back then.
It’s not surprising that things have changed. Everything has become discussion-based. Argument-based, more like. Even the memes have become a lot more cynical than they used to be. Remember Charlie the Unicorn? That was just dumb; it didn’t have any underlying social commentary.
Please don’t tell me it has underlying social commentary.
I suppose the Internet is just a day-to-day example of the way things change, and how fast change happens. It feels strange to be nostalgic for something so goofy that didn’t really matter, but I suppose every generation has their version of that.
I leave you with this song. It’s about MySpace, played with a ukulele, and it’s on old-school YouTube. You’re welcome.
My novel is called DOORS OPENING. It’s a new adult contemporary romance set during the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Shy and awkward millennials Celeste and Javi catch each other’s eye at a social gathering of book nerds. She’s barely ever left her house on her own and suddenly she’s making eyes with a cute stranger! What will her mother say? As it turns out, her mother will say plenty. But the more time they spend together, the more it feels as though destiny or at least luck has brought them together. Can Javi and Celeste’s budding romance survive the pressures of their parents, their nagging milestone clocks, and an economy that seems set up to doom their entire generation?
My name is Sara Mazariegos. I was born in Montana but haven’t been back since I was three years old, so please don’t ask me about moose. My family moved around a lot, thanks to the military, before finally settling in the D.C. area so I could go to high school with kids I already knew. Thanks, Mom and Dad! Meeting new people is scary, especially if you’re a human mouse with social anxiety like me.
I’m what the Internet politely refers to as an “Early Millennial.” That means that I grew up with an email account and no job prospects. I have a wonderfully nerdy husband, and we have a small house and two moderately normal-sized cats. When I’m not reading a new book instead of one of the old ones on my shelf, watching popular streaming shows a few seasons too late, or writing until my vision goes blurry, I work as a marketing administrative assistant to an intellectual property management software company. Which is about as exciting as it sounds.
They say that having a website is good, so you can promote your work and socialize about it. As an Olde Millennial, I’m no stranger to having websites. I made my first website when I was ten years old! It was called Sara’s Moviegoers Page! and it was mostly pictures of pixilated cartoon characters and midi files.
Hopefully this website will be better.
Before diving headfirst into another site, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my other one (https://posthumorously.wordpress.com) – where I’ve posted about my lifelong love of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction. I wish I still had my dorky, embarrassing Monkees fan website to also share with you, but alas…
Ever heard of Angelfire? It used to be there.
Anyway, I would like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope I passed the audition.
Sara Mazariegos 