I’m proud to be Gen X – or more precisely, a Xennial, born in 1979.
Over the weekend, an old high school friend stayed overnight at our house. Catching up was such a joy. She remembered every escapade and classmate I’d half-forgotten. We even went to college together, but life took us in different directions for years. Sitting across from her again felt both brand new and like no time had passed.
There’s something so grounding about reconnecting with someone who knew you before adulthood – before mortgages, marriage, and group texts about carpool. Back when dreams felt limitless and the world still felt big. Somehow, being with someone from those days makes it seem like nothing has changed, even though everything has.
What It Meant to Grow Up Gen X
Our generation is often described as “strong and ignored.”
We were the last to grow up without the internet and the first to adapt when it became essential. We transitioned from cassette tapes to CDs to Napster to Spotify. We had Myspace pages, then Facebook, and now we’re figuring out TikTok and Snapchat (sort of).
We navigated life with printed directions and folding atlases before GPS became standard. We had limited monthly cell phone minutes until 9 p.m. when minutes were unlimited, calling cards for long-distance, and landlines in dorm rooms.
We didn’t talk much about mental health, and words like “boundaries” or “self-care” weren’t part of our vocabulary. Many of us were latchkey kids, coming home to empty houses and learning independence early. When we left the house, our parents couldn’t track our steps or drop a pin to find us. We were handed a quarter “just in case” we needed to call home – but that only worked if someone was actually there to answer.
Now I laugh (and cringe a little) at how anxious I feel if I accidentally leave my cell phone behind, even for a quick 20-minute errand. How did we survive entire days out of contact and still make it home for dinner?
Kindergarten didn’t mean sight words, bullying didn’t follow us home online, and our mistakes weren’t immortalized on social media.
The Struggles We Carry Now
Lately, I’ve been rewatching a show from the late ’90s, and it’s pure nostalgia – the hairstyles, the clothes, the hallways full of kids actually talking to each other. Life seemed simpler then. But as I watch, I can’t help thinking about the emotional costs of that simplicity.
Did we bury our feelings a little too well?
My friend and I were talking about how many people our age are quietly struggling – with burnout, depression, infidelity, or a sense of disconnection. Is that just part of midlife, or something unique about being Gen X – raised to cope, not complain?
The Hopeful Side of Gen X
For all our unspoken pain, we learned grit. We adapted to constant change. We built resilience before it became a buzzword.
Yes, midlife can feel heavy – but Gen X is uniquely equipped to face it. We’re problem-solvers, adapters, and realists. And when we reconnect with old friends who remind us of who we were before, it makes the now feel a little lighter – and a lot more hopeful.
Here’s to Gen X – still standing, still laughing, and still figuring it out, one cassette-turned-streaming playlist at a time.
If you’re Gen X or a Xennial, what’s one memory from your youth that still makes you smile and how do you think it shaped who you are today?
If you grew up with mixtapes, rotary phones, or Saturday morning cartoons – you’re my people.
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