The more I get closer to finishing my book, the more I realize what it really stands for. I believe it’s a normal attribute of a writer, but I’ve always been extremely aware of what is going on around me. I listen very closely, I read a lot, I follow politics, and follow social trends, and I try my best to keep up with anything thats relevant whether it relates to politics or even pop-culture.
My characters are living about 6 months behind us. It’s almost a way to reflect upon what has happened in the past to make sense of what is going on now. For example, one of my characters is even deeply affected by someone they used to know who actually predicted Occupy Wall Street before it even happened.
I have been going through my book and trying to highlight some of the issues and important events that it really touches deeply on. My two characters are not a reflection of me by any means, but of course I’m writing about what I know, what I’ve learned in my life, and the people I have met along the way, and the places I have seen.
I thought it would be interesting to list the things that my book represents. This is sort of hard, because I don’t want to elaborate my opinions or point of view, but I think it’s okay to list out things that affect my characters deeply.
So here they are:
1) War on Women
Yes the 1960s is a huge trend right now with the fashion and also the success of Mad Men, but do we really have to bring the women issues back to life? We fought so hard to have OPTIONS. What angers me the most is that there’s professional, highly educated women who are trying to take away options for other women. I just can’t wrap my head around this! We never fought for wanting everything like society expects us to do now (be educated, be a mom, have babies, clean the house, work long hours, start a non-profit organization, look fabulous even if you’re grabbing milk at the convenient store, work out, and do all this before 30). If you’re a woman that can accomplish all this, that’s really cool! But to be honest, not every woman strives for all this, because they may not want all of this. If you take a look back, women fought for options, not to strive to have it all.
2) Homophobia
When I was watching the news the other day, I realized that this is still a huge issue. I won’t state what event I’m referring to, but all I can say is the “jokes” need to stop, especially on the radio. I went back and forth about having a gay character in my book, but I’m really happy I chose to.
3) Student Debt
There’s just absolutely no reason for this.
4) The Dating Shift
Technology (plus other things) has really caused a shift in the dating world. Long text message conversations have turned into “dates”. Facebook has caused jealousy and break-ups. Pictures being sent back and forth have been used for blackmail. Doesn’t sound fun, right?
5) lazy Angry Generation
The 20-somethings have been told that they are lazy, unmotivated, irresponsible, yada yada yada. Okay seriously…just stop. Maybe the 1% are, but I can assure the people that think that most of us are busting our ass to make ends meet in hopes of a brighter future. Being in student debt is like being “punished” for going to school. If someone decides not to go to school, because they don’t want to live in debt, they are looked at as irresponsible. If you’re in a service job, you’re thought of as someone who doesn’t take their future seriously. Expecting us (no matter what our circumstances is) to go to school, volunteer, do unpaid internships, spend hours applying for jobs (that the media is telling us is impossible to even be hired), and magically find the money and support to do all this, you’re out of your mind!
I hope I didn’t offend anyone with my “lists”, but I feel like the best way to express myself is through a fictional book. If I’m going to spend hours and long nights writing something, it better be something I truly, deeply believe in.
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