Do you ever wish you were born at a different time?
- Thread starter Flynn4Heisman
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I was born in 1997 so almost certainly the youngest guy on this website by 15 years. I'm good with this time overall. I mean there is no 'perfect' time to be born and some things suck right now but honestly they are pretty minor relative to world history. Personally, I was able to get almost 4 full years of college before COVID hit... if my college experience got ruined by COVID I would probably have voted to be born earlier but not more than a few years. The Internet has some downsides, mainly social media, but music/art/culture are the most accessible they have ever been, information on anything I can think of is at my fingertips, my job does not physically break down my body or expose me to chemicals and compensates me enough so I can provide food and shelter to my loved ones, and I live in the richest nation in the history of the world and I have a right to vote in that nation. Rerolling my birth lottery would be the lowest EV wish I could give a genie.
My grandma has a similar little bio, that she dictated to my aunt, who typed it up. Maybe 10 pages, short stories and memories. It has some incredible things in there, growing up poor af. Making ammo during WW2. Drinking with her friends as a girl!
Have asked my folks to create same kind of thing with their memories of growing up, and life in general. They were like "who would care" and I said ME to start, but also my kids! And someday, their kids.
Those kinds of memories and stories are amazing to me.
I was born in 1960 to parents who were already in their 40’s with a bunch of kids. The closest to me in age is five years older. While I wish I could see things in the past, like my paternal grandparents who died before I was born or my parents when they didn’t have gray hair, I certainly wouldn’t want to have gone through their lifetimes. I’ll take clean water, electricity, indoor plumbing, motor vehicles, and air conditioning, as well as life saving medications. And can not emphasize enough the miracle of feminine hygiene products.
It's just two examples. I could go on but it would get into things this thread likely wasn't interested in hearing.
I was born in the 70s, so "grew up" mainly in the 80s. I certainly would NOT want to grow up now, with the ubiquity of social media. I appreciate that we played outside, and all those other 80s tropes.
If I had to pick a different decade, I would pick born in the 50s and growing up in the 60s. (As long as I didn't end up in Vietnam - that would suck.) Basically, my parents generation. The muscle car ear remains my favorite. I've owned many different '66-71 big-block convertibles - but only after I hit middle age and could afford it. Would have been awesome to grow up with those cars being commonplace. The music was good too. It's not really my jam, but the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc are certainly nothing to complain about! And who could complain about the Summer of Free Love? Also, I would be elderly now - and health care is good. I would die before medicare goes bust, etc.
If I had to pick a different decade, I would pick born in the 50s and growing up in the 60s. (As long as I didn't end up in Vietnam - that would suck.) Basically, my parents generation. The muscle car ear remains my favorite. I've owned many different '66-71 big-block convertibles - but only after I hit middle age and could afford it. Would have been awesome to grow up with those cars being commonplace. The music was good too. It's not really my jam, but the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc are certainly nothing to complain about! And who could complain about the Summer of Free Love? Also, I would be elderly now - and health care is good. I would die before medicare goes bust, etc.
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I've chimed into this thread a couple times but never really responded to the OP. I wouldn't change a thing. If I did it would be because of what I know now, not what a different timeframe would have provided. Born in '54 I feel I've experienced similar advancements to what I would have had if I was born 50 years earlier or 50 years later and got to experience them when they mostly were pertinent to my age at the time. I had an older sister that beat me to enrollment at ISU by a year but we were the first in our family to get a college education. My number was called to get my physical to go to Vietnam but the draft was called off before I was forced to enlist. Thanks to those that served but I was glad I evaded the opportunity. From vinyl to cassettes (never owned an 8 track) I had my choice of music, owned a muscle car ('79 trans AM) and a Harley. High School and college gave me the best of the early 70's. Dating was never a crapshoot or much of a risk. I was raised in a family that valued the work ethic which I was able to pass on to my kid. Was never (and still am not) "rich" but I've never been lacking. I wasn't captain of the football team nor the homecoming King but I always had friends. I never missed a meal and always had a roof over my head. Having been born earlier would have robbed some of those opportunities and being born later would have given me access to things we probably can't comprehend but it's been that way forever. We live in an environment that is one of the best in the world and still find things to complain about. One day this 3rd rock from the sun will have a population that will not be able to sustain itself. It won't matter if you have granite countertops in your kitchen if there is no food on the table. We all can't live forever and I have no desire to be in that last generation.
Wish I’d been born in 1925… I could enjoy all the modern art and rock n roll from a vantage point of being able to appreciate it as it happened. My profession would’ve been so much more fun and interesting during a career spanning 1950 to 1990-2000…
Growing up in the 90's and 2000's was great. Everything after 2008, and especially after 2010, sucked ass.
If you were born in 1925 and appreciated rock and roll as it developed you'd been in the 1%.
That's the age of our parents. The parents of the Boomers. And I can assure you, almost NOBODY in that generation appreciated rock and roll. Maybe 1% that made money from the sale of records or live performances.
Not a knock on you. Just adding some perspective from someone, who as a kid, got scorned from that generation endlessly because of our music.
This post brings me a chuckle as I look back. Early high school my brothers and I were tasked with tearing down a barn on a farm we rented to salvage the lumber. Dad had run back to the home place to grab some more tools or something and while he was gone we switched stations on the fender mounted tractor radio from his station to ours. When he came back he was serenaded by Jose Feliciano with the repeated "light my fire. light my fire" at probably an unnecessarily high volume. It was a hot miserable day and things weren't going all that well. He immediately went to radio saying "I'll light your G D fire" and turned it off--no radio the rest of the day. I'm guessing he wasn't in that 1% either.
