January 15, 2023 • 25 mins
Are we the lost generation? 👀
In this first episode of I’m lost, so what? Cassandra explores what is the ‘lost generation’ throughout history and what the term means to her today. She also shares a whole ‘full-circle’ moment as to why the podcast was created, why the name was picked, and the goal of this new creative experiment!
In this episode, Cassandra covers
- Who is part of the ‘lost generation’?
- What Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z all have in common
- What the lost generation looks like in today’s Internet-run world
- And the difference between history’s “lost generation” and what’s happening now
Links referenced in the episode:
- Lost Generation - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Generation
- Lost Generation and Millennials - https://glass.hfcc.edu/2017/05-01/lost-generation-and-millennials
Connect with Cassandra and her business elsewhere:
- Cassandra’s Personal Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cassandratle/
- The Quirky Pineapple Studio Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thequirkypineapplestudio/
- The Quirky Pineapple Studio Website - https://thequirkypineapple.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Or is it, you know, I'm lost becauseI don't know, quote unquote, what
I'm doing with my life or everyday is like a new adventure.
Or is it I'm lost because I amquote unquote, failing in your eyes.
I'm taking all of that.
Whatever people have said to mein the past of, you know, moving
(00:20):
abroad, starting my business,just like exploring these topic.
I am owning it.
Instead, I am lost.
So what, hello?
Hello everyone.
I'm Cassandra Le and you'relistening to I'm Lost.
So what the podcast exploring betweenbelonging and carving your own path
for all the peeps out there who kindof know what you're doing, but still
(00:43):
question what the fuck is going on?
Yeah, I'm with you.
Welcome.
Welcome to the firstepisode of the, I'm Lost.
So What?
Podcast.
I'm your host, Cassandra Le.
And before we get into today's topic,which is, are we the Lost Generation?
I just wanna take a moment to saythank you so much for tuning in to this
(01:04):
podcast, for supporting my new creativeproject and really exploring this
entire nuanced conversation with me.
This is a whole creative experiment andI'm really excited to dive into topics
like the one that we have today, aswell as culture, identity, and all of
the other things that we will get into.
(01:26):
I'm also super excited to invite somereally awesome guests who I consider
to be multicultural and embody nuanced.
And that will be cominglater on in the season.
But anyways, I just wanted to give youall a quick intro into myself so you know
who you are listening to and have a littlecontext of who is this person, Cassandra.
(01:49):
So if you don't know me, I am Cassandra.
I am originally from Virginiain the United States I am a
child of immigrant parents.
My parents are originallyfrom Vietnam, so that makes me
Vietnamese American, and I am now animmigrant myself, living in Spain.
I've been in Spain now for aboutmaybe collectively seven or eight
(02:11):
years, and I've lived in Madrid.
I've lived in the south of Spainin small towns, and now I am
currently living in Toledo, Spain,which is I think my favorite city
so far, like I love this place.
If you Google it, it isabsolutely beautiful.
It's super medieval.
Um, and just like otherworldly.
(02:34):
Uh, other things about me, I am a PiscesSun, Virgo Moon, and Cancer rising.
And if you are into humandesign, I am six-two generator.
Other things outside of, you know, all ofthe astrology and like personality tests.
I love bubble tea.
I love travel and I will watch alot of movie trailers on YouTube
(02:57):
to movies that I actually willnever watch in my entire life.
Most of the time I watch the trailer andthen I will actually look for spoilers.
But that is just a little bit aboutme and a little context into who I am.
And yeah, if you are not following me onInstagram, you can follow me @Cassandra
TLe and I would love if you send alittle message to introduce yourself
(03:19):
if you have been a longtime follower.
If you are just tuningin and you're like, whoa.
I don't know how I found thispodcast or this person, but I'm a
fan and I wanna introduce myself.
Please send a message.
I love those.
And yeah, this is like a whole openconversation, so let's just get into
it because there's a lot to cover.
Well, in my mind, I thinkthere's a lot to cover with the.
(03:40):
With the question, arewe the lost generation?
So I wanted to start with this mainlybecause this podcast is called "I'm Lost.
So What?"
And randomly I had an idea of,okay, are we the Lost Generation?
And this doesn't just apply tomillennials, quote unquote, or
Gen Z, or Gen X, or Baby Boomersor all of the other generations.
(04:05):
This actually applies to people whokind of occupy that space of, yeah,
I'm kind of doing something for myself,like I am deciding to step outside
of societal norms or societal rulesor just do something for myself.
Basically choosing yourself and ifyou are multicultural, if you are a
(04:26):
hyphenated person, um, if you are athird culture kid, or if you are a
child of immigrant or refugee parents.
Like, I think that all isincluded in the Lost Generation.
I'm not necessarily talkingabout a specific age range.
Before I get into all of that,I wanted to actually talk about
what is the lost generation, like,the original Lost Generation.
(04:46):
Because after doing some research,I found out that the, the
term, uh, lost generation wascoined by Gertrude Stein and.
The way that they described the LostGeneration was that it was a social
generational cohort in the Western world.
That was in early adulthoodduring World War I.
(05:08):
Um, I got that on Wikipedia, so if youwanna check the show notes and read
more about it, I've linked it there.
So, with The Lost Generation, in thiscontext, it refers to people who are
disoriented, wandering, and directionless.
It was basically the spirit thata lot of people after World War I
or in the early post-war period.
(05:29):
And the term was also used to referto a group of, um, expat writers who
are from the United States, and theymoved to Paris during the 1920s.
So historically now we're thinking like,okay, post World War I, roaring twenties,
great depression, if you know a littlebit about history in the United States.
(05:51):
And that kind of, I think, sets thestage for, okay, this lost generation
and kind of what we will be talkingabout in the rest of the episode.
So what exactly did this quote unquote,original lost generation deal with?
Um, a lot of the times I, what Ifound in my research is that they were
dealing with, uh, cultural change.
(06:12):
They were also dealing with loss ofidentity and they were also dealing
with, um, technological advancements.
So back then, those technologicaladvancements were things like tv,
radio, and then it was also when genderroles were shifting because of after
World War I, um, at least in the UnitedStates women were joining the workforce.
(06:36):
They were, they had the ability to vote.
They were kind of changingup their appearance.
Women were cutting their hair short,they were wearing, you know, shorter
skirts and all of these things.
So that's kind of what the lostgeneration looked like back then.
And just to kind of move it into, today'sday and age, I do want to give at least
(06:59):
like age range and timeframe of what Iconsidered to be the lost generation.
So previously, you know, I saidit wasn't necessarily just like
people in a certain age range.
It wasn't just like, you know,baby boomers or anything like that.
But I do think the lost generation kind ofencompasses all of those people because we
all lived through such different things,like as a millennial - even though I don't
(07:24):
consider myself a millennial, which Iread in an article too that millennials
don't consider themselves millennials.
Um, we went through lotsof different things.
I mean, just after two, three now, um,going on three years of the pandemic,
um, living through a recession, atleast in the United States, and I
also know in Spain, um, they werealso really hit really hard with
(07:48):
the economic recession and thenalso went into an economic crisis.
Um, going through things like, you know,what work is looking like right now,
or, you know, just like social justicerisings, all of these things I think
not have only just impacted millennials.
Of course it's impacted Gen Z and I seeit with my parents who I believe are in
(08:10):
gen- no, I think they are baby boomers.
So let me go into like the ageranging timeframe of what I
consider to be people who belong to.
My definition of the lostgeneration, so had to Google
this first it is baby boomers.
So baby boomers are people who areborn between the years 1946 to 1964.
(08:31):
Then it's Gen X people born between theyears 1965 to 1980, then millennials,
1981 to 1996 and Gen Z, 1997 to 2012.
So all of those people I.
Quite a lot of people.
I don't think the lost generationonly applies to millennials.
I really think that if we add in cultureidentity, the internet and social media,
(08:55):
the people who are considered babyboomers or Gen X or even Gen Z, also
fall in what is the lost generation.
So to me, the last generation isbasically people who are kind of going
through what the original lost generationquote, quote definition is that Gertrude
Stein kind of coined and it's that weare kind of figuring out what the heck
(09:21):
we are doing, like we are deciding-okay I don't wanna do this anymore.
Or you know, I did this for a reallylong time and I don't have to, and
now I want to change something.
And basically, we're currently goingthrough a lot of these like questions of
course of- okay, if I don't wanna do thisanymore, what options do I have, and a
(09:45):
lot of the times what I'm finding when I'mtalking to my friends or when I'm talking
to my clients, they're kind of decidingthings that didn't necessarily exist.
Or they don't exist yet.
So we're all kind of justcreating it while we're trying
to live it at the same time.
And that is one very stressful.
Um, but two also very brave.
(10:07):
And I think that's where I wouldconsider the lost generation.
Like we are really trying to definesomething for ourselves and also
we are carrying a lot of the stuffthat our families went through.
These are like generational wisdoms.
This could be generational trauma.
These could be like cyclical patternsthat our ancestors had and we're one,
(10:31):
trying to learn about it and then,but then also trying to change it.
So I think if we add in culture identity,the internet and social media two,
this idea of the lost generation, itkind of makes it very, very different.
Then what the lostgeneration was previously.
So I wanna go into that.
Um, when I'm talking about likeculture, I'm talking about of course,
(10:53):
what I mentioned before, multiculturalpeople, people who come from, you
know, different backgrounds who, forexample, I consider myself multicultural,
where my parents are Vietnamese, butI was born and raised in the United
States, but now I live in Spain.
Or it could be somebody whois also a hyphenated person.
(11:14):
It could be an Asian American, it couldbe a Asian Canadian, whatever that is.
It could also mean that you are a childof immigrants or a child of refugees,
or you are a third culture kid, so thatmeans that your parents come from two
different cultures and then you also wereborn and raised in a different culture.
(11:35):
And with all of that, that means.
We've got like a lot going on therebecause that's a lot of information.
Those are a lot of like different values.
Those are a lot of different beliefs, andthat means also the world that we grow up
in is changing a lot and there are lotsof different factors because basically
(11:57):
we're kind of just creating things on ourown because we don't necessarily quote
unquote fit in one place, but we don'tnecessarily quote unquote belong anywhere
else because everything is so siloed.
So then going from culture, we gointo identity, and this is like
realizing for me that the values thatwe grew up with don't necessarily
(12:19):
match the values that we have now.
So growing up in the United Statesand seeing a lot of capitalism
and consumerism, there's that.
And now living in Spain whereconsumerism isn't so big.
I mean, it still exists, but it'snot like in your face all the time.
(12:41):
My values have changed and I don'tneed to buy X, Y, Z all the time.
This has like shifted of course,and like there are other things, but
that is just one example and likeconsidering identities and stuff and
we think about, okay, if the valuesthat we grew up with don't necessarily
match the values that we have -thenthat means that we have a cultural
(13:04):
rebellion within ourselves and goingfrom our own personal cultural rebellion,
rebellion to like living that out.
That means that we have to createan identity outside of quote
unquote, the labels that we have.
And those are the labelsthat people put on us.
Those are the labelsthat we put on ourselves.
Um, it could be things that like peoplejust believe or thought or, you know,
(13:27):
people projecting, or it could bethings that, you know, you just decided.
I am X, Y, Z this person, Iam not X, Y, Z this person.
But if we then tie in cultureagain, then we have to realize-
okay, we're kind of in between.
Like if my identity is this ormy identity is not that, but
(13:48):
then my culture is so different.
Now, if you think about, okay,we've got like layers of lasagne.
I suppose if you can imagine that?
Going into it, and now we haveto explore all these gray areas
of our identity because there arepockets that we just don't know.
There are pockets wherewe're like, who are we?
(14:11):
Or what does it mean to be X, Y, Z,this, or what does it mean to be X, Y, Z?
That, and I think that is wild.
So, we've got the bottom layer culture,then it goes identity, and now we have
to define ourselves and be able toexplore the nuances of our own identity
because it fluctuates, it changes.
(14:32):
We are not the same person.
Uh, and you know, I was not thesame person three years ago.
I'm not the same person today ortomorrow, like I can choose to change.
Now this is getting super philosophical.
So if you're listening to this andyou're like -oh my gosh, this is not
what I expected from this podcast.
Um, that's kind of whatI'm with identity.
(14:54):
Okay.
So there's cultural identity.
The next one is the internet.
And the reason why I bring up theinternet is because the internet did not
exist a couple years ago, which is wild.
I grew up with the internet.
I am like internet junkie forever,but the internet actually connects us
to people from everywhere and I thinkthat is what makes this so different
than the lost generation previous.
(15:14):
Because the internet actuallygave us access to more
cultures, places, and things.
It also gave us access to information.
So we started researchingthings on our own.
Like we were able to legit typeinto a search engine, probably
Google and look up, okay, somethingsimple, how to boil an egg.
(15:34):
Or it could have been justlike, how do people do X, Y, Z?
Or what does X, y, Z mean?
And that's when we decided, that'swhen we started developing our own
opinions outside of what quote unquotesociety or our schools taught us.
And to me, I don't know if you all hadsome like similar situation, but for
(15:56):
me that's when I realized I was likebasically one being brainwashed in do
believing whatever the US was teachingme or whatever, whoever wrote the
history textbooks or all of that stuff.
And then I had to decide, okay, Ineed to go look up my own information.
And the internet gave me that power.
The internet gave me that power to likeone research on my own and then helped
(16:17):
me to formulate my own opinions, andthat also helped me connect to others
who had similar values, but maybe thosepeople lived not in the same place
that I lived, or those people werelike totally different than who I was.
But we had something in commonand that I think is very, very
(16:37):
powerful for this lost generation.
So after all of that, this isthe fourth thing that I would
add is, um, social media.
So social media again, did not exist.
I think Twitter just celebratedlike its 15 year anniversary,
maybe one or two years ago.
And on social media, ofcourse, we share our lives.
We find community, we reconnect withpeople that we maybe haven't talked to
(17:00):
in a while, and then we also feel, wedon't feel as alone, although social
media can also make us feel alone.
So that's kind of like a whole other thingthat I think we would have to explore
on our own, like in another episode.
But social media one kind of, I thinkbrought to light more, brought to light
and prioritized more things around mentalhealth, especially after the pandemic.
(17:25):
And also it brought up these thingsof comparison because of course the
internet is awesome, but it also opensup doors to one comparison and like
lots of other, lots of great things likehaters and trolls and all of that stuff.
But I also think that social media helpedus to feel like we belong through our
screens while we're watching peopledo like dance videos or like, I think
(17:48):
the biggest thing when I watch TikTokis I'm watching it, I'm like- wow, so
many people have the same experiencethat I do like the mundane, superhuman
experiences, and I think that makesme feel like I am not one lost and I
am not so alone and I actually belong.
(18:09):
But honestly, I also think likesocial media, if we want to tie in
work to all of this, with the LostGeneration, it opens up possibilities
outside of traditional jobs.
And we also get to see that we don'thave to go the traditional route
because we're seeing other people do it.
Whereas before, maybe with the previousLost Generation, right after World War I.
(18:30):
They didn't see that becausethey did not have social media,
they did not have the internet.
You kind of just saw whateverwas within your, uh, network or
within like your physical space.
So I think one thing that I wantto kind of like tie together with
this lost generation is that thereis, at least with the people I've
(18:53):
talked to, a lot of optimism.
And in the show notes, I've alsolinked another research paper
that I found that compares theLost Generation and Millennials.
And they mentioned that both the LostGeneration and us as millennials, but
I honestly feel like a lot of othergenerations, like I mentioned before,
the Baby Boomers, gen X, and also Gen Z,like we have this very interesting belief
(19:21):
or faith or hope that is optimistic.
And I don't wanna say like.
You know, optimism of, yeah.
Or, you know, toxic positivity wherewe think- oh yeah, everything's
gonna be absolutely awesome.
We have this optimism that,you know, we're like redefining
and taking this quote unquotedefinition of lost and owning it.
(19:48):
Like, if you're gonna call me lost orif you're gonna call me somebody that
doesn't belong, I'm gonna take that andI'm gonna own it and I'm gonna transform
it into actually like a superpower.
Personally, that's what I think.
I don't know if it's true,but that's how I feel.
Um, so that's kind of likethis whole podcast, this like
(20:08):
whole idea of, okay, I'm lost.
So what?
Like, so what, what is lost anyway?
And.
What does lost mean?
Like, is it lost because I'm not followingyour traditional sense of what I should
be doing or what success looks like,or is it, you know, I'm lost because I
(20:31):
don't know, quote unquote what I'm doingwith my life or every day is like a new
adventure or is it, I'm lost because Iam quote unquote, failing in your eyes.
I'm taking all of that.
Whatever people have said to me inthe past of, you know, moving abroad,
starting my business, just likeexploring these topics, I am owning it.
(20:54):
Instead, I am lost.
So what, so what, and I think that thishas manifested itself through lots of
like coaching and also therapy, butI think one thing that I am realizing
is that in this quote unquote new lostgeneration the "I'm lost, so whaters?"
(21:14):
I think we are learning, this ismy perception, so please correct
me if I'm wrong, we're learning tohave more grace for ourselves, more
self-compassion and more self-love.
And because of that we areextending it to other people.
Of course I think we're stillholding people accountable, which
I think is awesome, but we're alsolearning to one, have more empathy.
(21:37):
More grace, more self-compassion, moreself-love, and then extend it to others,
which then goes back to that optimismfeeling of, okay, things will get better.
And also, I think reclaims our personalpower of- yeah, we can make change, we
can come together and create change.
(21:57):
And also we are thefucking revolutionaries.
That sounded really intense.
But I wanted to leave it on a,like a intense note cuz I'm like-
yeah, that's it, like that's thewhole thing behind this podcast.
That's like the wholefeeling I wanted to have.
I wanted people who are listening.
If you are listening and you're kindof like, oh my gosh, this up, this
(22:19):
episode kind of went all over the place.
That's okay.
But I wanted people to listen tothis podcast and kind of think
to themselves, yeah, I'm lost.
I don't give a fuck because I amcreating every day and deciding every
day to do something for myself, todo something for my community, to do
(22:40):
something, to create a better world.
And I think that's really awesome because,I mean, if you're lost, that means you
just get to find new ways, new paths, todo something that most people couldn't.
Is it better?
I don't know.
Is it the fastest way?
I don't know.
And that's kind of whatwe're here to explore.
(23:02):
This whole podcast is just here toexplore a lot of these gray areas, these
gray areas of, yeah, I wanna belong,but I wanna do something different.
Yeah, I want to, you know, dosomething great, but I don't know how.
And I'm hoping that through theseconversations with you all, through
these self explorations with myselfthat you all get to listen to.
(23:24):
And with conversations with guests, weget to explore different perspectives.
And to be honest, I don't think thispodcast will give you any answers,
but my hope is that it will just giveyou different things to look at, to
consider, to journal on, to think about,um, or to bring up in conversation with
your own friends or your own networks.
And that's it.
(23:45):
So I'm gonna leave youall with a question.
And that is, do you believethat we are the lost generation?
And if we are, if we aren't, ifit's a maybe, let me know why.
Uh, send me a message on Instagram@CassandraTLe and let's talk about
(24:06):
it because this podcast, yeah, you'relistening to it, but I want it to
be a conversation, like a continuousconversation between you and me.
So are we The Lost Generation?
If you're hearing this message, that meansyou made it to the end of the episode.
Yay.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed this conversation andthought to yourself, oh, I wanna learn
(24:28):
more, head to the show notes for links toresources people, and all the things we
shared in this episode and previous ones.
Know someone that could alsoenjoy these conversations.
Send them this episode, anddon't forget to subscribe.
Wanna hang out with me inother areas of the internet?
You can follow me on Instagram@CassandraTLe, and for brand
message and content marketingtips and resources, check out my
(24:50):
business @TheQuirkyPineappleStudio.
Thanks again and seeyou in the next episode.
Stay fierce fam.
Or is it, you know, I'm lost becauseI don't know, quote unquote, what
I'm doing with my life or everyday is like a new adventure.
Or is it I'm lost because I amquote unquote, failing in your eyes.
I'm taking all of that.
Whatever people have said to mein the past of, you know, moving
(00:20):
abroad, starting my business,just like exploring these topic.
I am owning it.
Instead, I am lost.
So what, hello?
Hello everyone.
I'm Cassandra Le and you'relistening to I'm Lost.
So what the podcast exploring betweenbelonging and carving your own path
for all the peeps out there who kindof know what you're doing, but still
(00:43):
question what the fuck is going on?
Yeah, I'm with you.
Welcome.
Welcome to the firstepisode of the, I'm Lost.
So What?
Podcast.
I'm your host, Cassandra Le.
And before we get into today's topic,which is, are we the Lost Generation?
I just wanna take a moment to saythank you so much for tuning in to this
(01:04):
podcast, for supporting my new creativeproject and really exploring this
entire nuanced conversation with me.
This is a whole creative experiment andI'm really excited to dive into topics
like the one that we have today, aswell as culture, identity, and all of
the other things that we will get into.
(01:26):
I'm also super excited to invite somereally awesome guests who I consider
to be multicultural and embody nuanced.
And that will be cominglater on in the season.
But anyways, I just wanted to give youall a quick intro into myself so you know
who you are listening to and have a littlecontext of who is this person, Cassandra.
(01:49):
So if you don't know me, I am Cassandra.
I am originally from Virginiain the United States I am a
child of immigrant parents.
My parents are originallyfrom Vietnam, so that makes me
Vietnamese American, and I am now animmigrant myself, living in Spain.
I've been in Spain now for aboutmaybe collectively seven or eight
(02:11):
years, and I've lived in Madrid.
I've lived in the south of Spainin small towns, and now I am
currently living in Toledo, Spain,which is I think my favorite city
so far, like I love this place.
If you Google it, it isabsolutely beautiful.
It's super medieval.
Um, and just like otherworldly.
(02:34):
Uh, other things about me, I am a PiscesSun, Virgo Moon, and Cancer rising.
And if you are into humandesign, I am six-two generator.
Other things outside of, you know, all ofthe astrology and like personality tests.
I love bubble tea.
I love travel and I will watch alot of movie trailers on YouTube
(02:57):
to movies that I actually willnever watch in my entire life.
Most of the time I watch the trailer andthen I will actually look for spoilers.
But that is just a little bit aboutme and a little context into who I am.
And yeah, if you are not following me onInstagram, you can follow me @Cassandra
TLe and I would love if you send alittle message to introduce yourself
(03:19):
if you have been a longtime follower.
If you are just tuningin and you're like, whoa.
I don't know how I found thispodcast or this person, but I'm a
fan and I wanna introduce myself.
Please send a message.
I love those.
And yeah, this is like a whole openconversation, so let's just get into
it because there's a lot to cover.
Well, in my mind, I thinkthere's a lot to cover with the.
(03:40):
With the question, arewe the lost generation?
So I wanted to start with this mainlybecause this podcast is called "I'm Lost.
So What?"
And randomly I had an idea of,okay, are we the Lost Generation?
And this doesn't just apply tomillennials, quote unquote, or
Gen Z, or Gen X, or Baby Boomersor all of the other generations.
(04:05):
This actually applies to people whokind of occupy that space of, yeah,
I'm kind of doing something for myself,like I am deciding to step outside
of societal norms or societal rulesor just do something for myself.
Basically choosing yourself and ifyou are multicultural, if you are a
(04:26):
hyphenated person, um, if you are athird culture kid, or if you are a
child of immigrant or refugee parents.
Like, I think that all isincluded in the Lost Generation.
I'm not necessarily talkingabout a specific age range.
Before I get into all of that,I wanted to actually talk about
what is the lost generation, like,the original Lost Generation.
(04:46):
Because after doing some research,I found out that the, the
term, uh, lost generation wascoined by Gertrude Stein and.
The way that they described the LostGeneration was that it was a social
generational cohort in the Western world.
That was in early adulthoodduring World War I.
(05:08):
Um, I got that on Wikipedia, so if youwanna check the show notes and read
more about it, I've linked it there.
So, with The Lost Generation, in thiscontext, it refers to people who are
disoriented, wandering, and directionless.
It was basically the spirit thata lot of people after World War I
or in the early post-war period.
(05:29):
And the term was also used to referto a group of, um, expat writers who
are from the United States, and theymoved to Paris during the 1920s.
So historically now we're thinking like,okay, post World War I, roaring twenties,
great depression, if you know a littlebit about history in the United States.
(05:51):
And that kind of, I think, sets thestage for, okay, this lost generation
and kind of what we will be talkingabout in the rest of the episode.
So what exactly did this quote unquote,original lost generation deal with?
Um, a lot of the times I, what Ifound in my research is that they were
dealing with, uh, cultural change.
(06:12):
They were also dealing with loss ofidentity and they were also dealing
with, um, technological advancements.
So back then, those technologicaladvancements were things like tv,
radio, and then it was also when genderroles were shifting because of after
World War I, um, at least in the UnitedStates women were joining the workforce.
(06:36):
They were, they had the ability to vote.
They were kind of changingup their appearance.
Women were cutting their hair short,they were wearing, you know, shorter
skirts and all of these things.
So that's kind of what the lostgeneration looked like back then.
And just to kind of move it into, today'sday and age, I do want to give at least
(06:59):
like age range and timeframe of what Iconsidered to be the lost generation.
So previously, you know, I saidit wasn't necessarily just like
people in a certain age range.
It wasn't just like, you know,baby boomers or anything like that.
But I do think the lost generation kind ofencompasses all of those people because we
all lived through such different things,like as a millennial - even though I don't
(07:24):
consider myself a millennial, which Iread in an article too that millennials
don't consider themselves millennials.
Um, we went through lotsof different things.
I mean, just after two, three now, um,going on three years of the pandemic,
um, living through a recession, atleast in the United States, and I
also know in Spain, um, they werealso really hit really hard with
(07:48):
the economic recession and thenalso went into an economic crisis.
Um, going through things like, you know,what work is looking like right now,
or, you know, just like social justicerisings, all of these things I think
not have only just impacted millennials.
Of course it's impacted Gen Z and I seeit with my parents who I believe are in
(08:10):
gen- no, I think they are baby boomers.
So let me go into like the ageranging timeframe of what I
consider to be people who belong to.
My definition of the lostgeneration, so had to Google
this first it is baby boomers.
So baby boomers are people who areborn between the years 1946 to 1964.
(08:31):
Then it's Gen X people born between theyears 1965 to 1980, then millennials,
1981 to 1996 and Gen Z, 1997 to 2012.
So all of those people I.
Quite a lot of people.
I don't think the lost generationonly applies to millennials.
I really think that if we add in cultureidentity, the internet and social media,
(08:55):
the people who are considered babyboomers or Gen X or even Gen Z, also
fall in what is the lost generation.
So to me, the last generation isbasically people who are kind of going
through what the original lost generationquote, quote definition is that Gertrude
Stein kind of coined and it's that weare kind of figuring out what the heck
(09:21):
we are doing, like we are deciding-okay I don't wanna do this anymore.
Or you know, I did this for a reallylong time and I don't have to, and
now I want to change something.
And basically, we're currently goingthrough a lot of these like questions of
course of- okay, if I don't wanna do thisanymore, what options do I have, and a
(09:45):
lot of the times what I'm finding when I'mtalking to my friends or when I'm talking
to my clients, they're kind of decidingthings that didn't necessarily exist.
Or they don't exist yet.
So we're all kind of justcreating it while we're trying
to live it at the same time.
And that is one very stressful.
Um, but two also very brave.
(10:07):
And I think that's where I wouldconsider the lost generation.
Like we are really trying to definesomething for ourselves and also
we are carrying a lot of the stuffthat our families went through.
These are like generational wisdoms.
This could be generational trauma.
These could be like cyclical patternsthat our ancestors had and we're one,
(10:31):
trying to learn about it and then,but then also trying to change it.
So I think if we add in culture identity,the internet and social media two,
this idea of the lost generation, itkind of makes it very, very different.
Then what the lostgeneration was previously.
So I wanna go into that.
Um, when I'm talking about likeculture, I'm talking about of course,
(10:53):
what I mentioned before, multiculturalpeople, people who come from, you
know, different backgrounds who, forexample, I consider myself multicultural,
where my parents are Vietnamese, butI was born and raised in the United
States, but now I live in Spain.
Or it could be somebody whois also a hyphenated person.
(11:14):
It could be an Asian American, it couldbe a Asian Canadian, whatever that is.
It could also mean that you are a childof immigrants or a child of refugees,
or you are a third culture kid, so thatmeans that your parents come from two
different cultures and then you also wereborn and raised in a different culture.
(11:35):
And with all of that, that means.
We've got like a lot going on therebecause that's a lot of information.
Those are a lot of like different values.
Those are a lot of different beliefs, andthat means also the world that we grow up
in is changing a lot and there are lotsof different factors because basically
(11:57):
we're kind of just creating things on ourown because we don't necessarily quote
unquote fit in one place, but we don'tnecessarily quote unquote belong anywhere
else because everything is so siloed.
So then going from culture, we gointo identity, and this is like
realizing for me that the values thatwe grew up with don't necessarily
(12:19):
match the values that we have now.
So growing up in the United Statesand seeing a lot of capitalism
and consumerism, there's that.
And now living in Spain whereconsumerism isn't so big.
I mean, it still exists, but it'snot like in your face all the time.
(12:41):
My values have changed and I don'tneed to buy X, Y, Z all the time.
This has like shifted of course,and like there are other things, but
that is just one example and likeconsidering identities and stuff and
we think about, okay, if the valuesthat we grew up with don't necessarily
match the values that we have -thenthat means that we have a cultural
(13:04):
rebellion within ourselves and goingfrom our own personal cultural rebellion,
rebellion to like living that out.
That means that we have to createan identity outside of quote
unquote, the labels that we have.
And those are the labelsthat people put on us.
Those are the labelsthat we put on ourselves.
Um, it could be things that like peoplejust believe or thought or, you know,
(13:27):
people projecting, or it could bethings that, you know, you just decided.
I am X, Y, Z this person, Iam not X, Y, Z this person.
But if we then tie in cultureagain, then we have to realize-
okay, we're kind of in between.
Like if my identity is this ormy identity is not that, but
(13:48):
then my culture is so different.
Now, if you think about, okay,we've got like layers of lasagne.
I suppose if you can imagine that?
Going into it, and now we haveto explore all these gray areas
of our identity because there arepockets that we just don't know.
There are pockets wherewe're like, who are we?
(14:11):
Or what does it mean to be X, Y, Z,this, or what does it mean to be X, Y, Z?
That, and I think that is wild.
So, we've got the bottom layer culture,then it goes identity, and now we have
to define ourselves and be able toexplore the nuances of our own identity
because it fluctuates, it changes.
(14:32):
We are not the same person.
Uh, and you know, I was not thesame person three years ago.
I'm not the same person today ortomorrow, like I can choose to change.
Now this is getting super philosophical.
So if you're listening to this andyou're like -oh my gosh, this is not
what I expected from this podcast.
Um, that's kind of whatI'm with identity.
(14:54):
Okay.
So there's cultural identity.
The next one is the internet.
And the reason why I bring up theinternet is because the internet did not
exist a couple years ago, which is wild.
I grew up with the internet.
I am like internet junkie forever,but the internet actually connects us
to people from everywhere and I thinkthat is what makes this so different
than the lost generation previous.
(15:14):
Because the internet actuallygave us access to more
cultures, places, and things.
It also gave us access to information.
So we started researchingthings on our own.
Like we were able to legit typeinto a search engine, probably
Google and look up, okay, somethingsimple, how to boil an egg.
(15:34):
Or it could have been justlike, how do people do X, Y, Z?
Or what does X, y, Z mean?
And that's when we decided, that'swhen we started developing our own
opinions outside of what quote unquotesociety or our schools taught us.
And to me, I don't know if you all hadsome like similar situation, but for
(15:56):
me that's when I realized I was likebasically one being brainwashed in do
believing whatever the US was teachingme or whatever, whoever wrote the
history textbooks or all of that stuff.
And then I had to decide, okay, Ineed to go look up my own information.
And the internet gave me that power.
The internet gave me that power to likeone research on my own and then helped
(16:17):
me to formulate my own opinions, andthat also helped me connect to others
who had similar values, but maybe thosepeople lived not in the same place
that I lived, or those people werelike totally different than who I was.
But we had something in commonand that I think is very, very
(16:37):
powerful for this lost generation.
So after all of that, this isthe fourth thing that I would
add is, um, social media.
So social media again, did not exist.
I think Twitter just celebratedlike its 15 year anniversary,
maybe one or two years ago.
And on social media, ofcourse, we share our lives.
We find community, we reconnect withpeople that we maybe haven't talked to
(17:00):
in a while, and then we also feel, wedon't feel as alone, although social
media can also make us feel alone.
So that's kind of like a whole other thingthat I think we would have to explore
on our own, like in another episode.
But social media one kind of, I thinkbrought to light more, brought to light
and prioritized more things around mentalhealth, especially after the pandemic.
(17:25):
And also it brought up these thingsof comparison because of course the
internet is awesome, but it also opensup doors to one comparison and like
lots of other, lots of great things likehaters and trolls and all of that stuff.
But I also think that social media helpedus to feel like we belong through our
screens while we're watching peopledo like dance videos or like, I think
(17:48):
the biggest thing when I watch TikTokis I'm watching it, I'm like- wow, so
many people have the same experiencethat I do like the mundane, superhuman
experiences, and I think that makesme feel like I am not one lost and I
am not so alone and I actually belong.
(18:09):
But honestly, I also think likesocial media, if we want to tie in
work to all of this, with the LostGeneration, it opens up possibilities
outside of traditional jobs.
And we also get to see that we don'thave to go the traditional route
because we're seeing other people do it.
Whereas before, maybe with the previousLost Generation, right after World War I.
(18:30):
They didn't see that becausethey did not have social media,
they did not have the internet.
You kind of just saw whateverwas within your, uh, network or
within like your physical space.
So I think one thing that I wantto kind of like tie together with
this lost generation is that thereis, at least with the people I've
(18:53):
talked to, a lot of optimism.
And in the show notes, I've alsolinked another research paper
that I found that compares theLost Generation and Millennials.
And they mentioned that both the LostGeneration and us as millennials, but
I honestly feel like a lot of othergenerations, like I mentioned before,
the Baby Boomers, gen X, and also Gen Z,like we have this very interesting belief
(19:21):
or faith or hope that is optimistic.
And I don't wanna say like.
You know, optimism of, yeah.
Or, you know, toxic positivity wherewe think- oh yeah, everything's
gonna be absolutely awesome.
We have this optimism that,you know, we're like redefining
and taking this quote unquotedefinition of lost and owning it.
(19:48):
Like, if you're gonna call me lost orif you're gonna call me somebody that
doesn't belong, I'm gonna take that andI'm gonna own it and I'm gonna transform
it into actually like a superpower.
Personally, that's what I think.
I don't know if it's true,but that's how I feel.
Um, so that's kind of likethis whole podcast, this like
(20:08):
whole idea of, okay, I'm lost.
So what?
Like, so what, what is lost anyway?
And.
What does lost mean?
Like, is it lost because I'm not followingyour traditional sense of what I should
be doing or what success looks like,or is it, you know, I'm lost because I
(20:31):
don't know, quote unquote what I'm doingwith my life or every day is like a new
adventure or is it, I'm lost because Iam quote unquote, failing in your eyes.
I'm taking all of that.
Whatever people have said to me inthe past of, you know, moving abroad,
starting my business, just likeexploring these topics, I am owning it.
(20:54):
Instead, I am lost.
So what, so what, and I think that thishas manifested itself through lots of
like coaching and also therapy, butI think one thing that I am realizing
is that in this quote unquote new lostgeneration the "I'm lost, so whaters?"
(21:14):
I think we are learning, this ismy perception, so please correct
me if I'm wrong, we're learning tohave more grace for ourselves, more
self-compassion and more self-love.
And because of that we areextending it to other people.
Of course I think we're stillholding people accountable, which
I think is awesome, but we're alsolearning to one, have more empathy.
(21:37):
More grace, more self-compassion, moreself-love, and then extend it to others,
which then goes back to that optimismfeeling of, okay, things will get better.
And also, I think reclaims our personalpower of- yeah, we can make change, we
can come together and create change.
(21:57):
And also we are thefucking revolutionaries.
That sounded really intense.
But I wanted to leave it on a,like a intense note cuz I'm like-
yeah, that's it, like that's thewhole thing behind this podcast.
That's like the wholefeeling I wanted to have.
I wanted people who are listening.
If you are listening and you're kindof like, oh my gosh, this up, this
(22:19):
episode kind of went all over the place.
That's okay.
But I wanted people to listen tothis podcast and kind of think
to themselves, yeah, I'm lost.
I don't give a fuck because I amcreating every day and deciding every
day to do something for myself, todo something for my community, to do
(22:40):
something, to create a better world.
And I think that's really awesome because,I mean, if you're lost, that means you
just get to find new ways, new paths, todo something that most people couldn't.
Is it better?
I don't know.
Is it the fastest way?
I don't know.
And that's kind of whatwe're here to explore.
(23:02):
This whole podcast is just here toexplore a lot of these gray areas, these
gray areas of, yeah, I wanna belong,but I wanna do something different.
Yeah, I want to, you know, dosomething great, but I don't know how.
And I'm hoping that through theseconversations with you all, through
these self explorations with myselfthat you all get to listen to.
(23:24):
And with conversations with guests, weget to explore different perspectives.
And to be honest, I don't think thispodcast will give you any answers,
but my hope is that it will just giveyou different things to look at, to
consider, to journal on, to think about,um, or to bring up in conversation with
your own friends or your own networks.
And that's it.
(23:45):
So I'm gonna leave youall with a question.
And that is, do you believethat we are the lost generation?
And if we are, if we aren't, ifit's a maybe, let me know why.
Uh, send me a message on Instagram@CassandraTLe and let's talk about
(24:06):
it because this podcast, yeah, you'relistening to it, but I want it to
be a conversation, like a continuousconversation between you and me.
So are we The Lost Generation?
If you're hearing this message, that meansyou made it to the end of the episode.
Yay.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed this conversation andthought to yourself, oh, I wanna learn
(24:28):
more, head to the show notes for links toresources people, and all the things we
shared in this episode and previous ones.
Know someone that could alsoenjoy these conversations.
Send them this episode, anddon't forget to subscribe.
Wanna hang out with me inother areas of the internet?
You can follow me on Instagram@CassandraTLe, and for brand
message and content marketingtips and resources, check out my
(24:50):
business @TheQuirkyPineappleStudio.
Thanks again and seeyou in the next episode.
Stay fierce fam.
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