failure_at_23 marQs view of the world I confess, I'm a failure...at age 23, I'm not what I'm supposed to be. I've let down my fellow twenty-somethings, and the media won't let me forget it. I'm almost the antithesis of everything a good Gen-Xer should be. First off, I have a decent, well paying, steady job (at least it will be well paying in a few montths, but even now, it doesn't pay bad ). Sure, I have to wear a uniform, but it's a coat and tie thing, not a "McJob-polyester-melt-to-your-skin" uniform. My checks are paid on the 1st and the 15th of the month, with weekends taken into account. And although I may ask if you'd like peanuts or pretzels, I don't have to say "You want fries with that?" I didn't cry when Kurt Nobrain deep throated his 12 gauge (one more rip-off by the "King of Grunge", in this case Papa Hemingway), and I haven't worn flannel -other than to stay warm- in about eight years. No, when I doff my work costume, I'm a jeans/shorts and T-shirt kind of guy. And when I do wear underwear, it's boxers or Hanes white cotton briefs, not Calvin Klein scrunchy huggers. I've never been on Prozac, Xanex or whatever this week's depression-curing wonder drug is. I wasn't abused as a child (hell, I was very rarely even spanked), nor was I ever molested by a long lost Uncle Fred scarring me for life. I'm not gay, and I don't spend my days and night obscured in a haze of pot smoke, or staring in awe at street lights while tripping on bad strychnine filled acid. No, although I have a few pieces of steel stuck through various parts of my body, my hair isn't a vibrant green or blinding yellow...Yes, I'm a failure...Forced to face the fact I'm...(it pains me to say this)...I'm normal, N-O-R-M-A-L. How will I ever live with myself and this terrible affliction? 000608 ... misstree just ended being 23. no comment. 001211 ... girl you poor baby. dont worry though. if youre a failure at 23 ive seen enough "failures" around campus around town here in charleston that you could start a couple hundred support groups. stay strong brother im sure some day you'll find a way to cope. 010906 ... ClairE Sounds suckful. 011126 ... roomite if a young person of say, age 13 came to you and said 'i am a failure at 13'. what advise might you give them? would you tell them that it's ludicrous to judge themselves at an age when all they should be doing is finding what it is they love to do? would you tell them that they should be experiencing everything life has to offer while they are still unencumbered? whatever you just told that 13 year old is the answer to your question. it's a matter of perspective... 011127 ... Tank hey marQ, i have cuntfabulous news for you. you are too young to be a part of generation x. therefore, since you are judging your failure on what it means to be a part of generation x to you, you have not failed! be normal, perhaps that is what your generation is supposed to be. the balance, you know..? 011128 what's it to you? who go blather from