I grew up on games and competition, and we played constant board games, cards and HORSE. Was it too much competiton? ... Probably.
Sophie is a bit of a gamer as well, and I just concluded a trip to the Bay Area in which Dina, Chloe and I spent Thanksgiving with the eldest daughter. She is a sophomore at UC Berkeley, and we did indeed play a family game of hearts when we visited. ... Gamers.
But I feel the need to compete more with Sophie. We don't need to grab a basketball and get in the driveway and play a no-holds-barred game of one-on-one like in The Great Santini.
Rather, I say we go toe-to-toe and compete with our college lives. Whatcha got, Sophie? Bring it.
I must say that college appears to be a much, much different experience than when I attended in the early 1990s. But which experience is better?
Now, are our experiences in any way indicative of every person of an entire generation? Well, uh, yes, indeed, they are! I went to The Ohio State University, and, overall, my college experience was positive. But the question is: Who has a better college experience — Gen Z kids or us Gen Xers?
1) Social Life. I assumed the Gen Xers and I would win this in a landslide. I am still friends with many college buddies and feel a connection with a vast number of college peers. Gen Z kids seem more concerned with their phones.
However, Sophie has quite a network of friends through her dance troupe, and she appears to be doing perfectly fine socially. I am also impressed that she does not drink any alcohol, or do any type of drugs, and that is excellent. For a lot of us Gen Xers, beer fueled our social lives, and when I realize that #MeToo moments were happening a lot, it knocks us down a peg. Winner: Tie
2) Academics. I had the freedom to study whatever in the world floated my boat, and I tell Sophie she has that freedom as well. I landed on English, and I enjoyed the freedom of coming into college undecided and finding my way.
Sophie, on the other hand, is majoring in computer science, or some sort of computer-science related field. As a parent, I believe it is my duty to support my daughter's pursuits and not criticize them. But as a writer, I got to question computer science. I mean that field hardly existed when I was in college, and what is the allure of computers?
I get that Gen Z kids love their phones, which are basically magical calculators. But for me, I wouldn't devote my career chasing digital waterfalls. However, Sophie's courses look quite more in depth than me, remembering that Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a Romantic poet. Her course work is way beyond calculus, and she took a fascinating neuroscience class about how the brain actually works. Winner: Gen Z
3) Emotional Life. I am not so sure I considered having an emotional life when I was in college whatsoever. In fact, the term "emotional intelligence" was not even coined until the 1990s.
Sophie is pretty chill and adaptable. What impresses me most is how she handles adversity. She's got grit. On the flip side, I see a lot of older people still emotionally immature. I've often said that there is a distinct lack of emotional education in the schools, but then it is reasonable to develop emotionally on our own. Winner: Gen Z
4) Spiritual Life. After being raised Catholic, it was nice to get to college and realize I finally didn't have to sit through masses any more. Thank God! But that didn't mean my spiritual life was over. Instead, it started a lifelong search for meaning and a spiritual life, and the dropping of Catholicism actually improved my spiritual life in the long run.
I did not raise Sophie with organized religion, and I believe she is open to many faiths and spiritual approaches. But for her generation, I wonder what the deal is. Many just blindly follow the faiths of their parents, or community, and I believe the United States is in the midst of a spiritual crisis. Heck, Dwight from The Office wrote a book called Spiritual Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. Winner: Gen X
5) Sports Teams. I just don't see how Cal can possibly compete with The Ohio State Buckeyes. Yes, the Bears had Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch, but come on? The Bucks are in a different echelon.
Plus, somehow the Big 10 has 18 teams now. Say what?!? The AFC has less, with 16 teams. The economics of college sports is just totally whack and goofy. What is going on here? Winner: Gen X
Well, there you have it.
At first glance, it appeared that Gen Z was in a runaway with a 2-0 lead over Gen X when it relates to the college experience. But then, buoyed by spirituality and sports teams, Gen X caught fire and forced a tie.
So it turns out that the college experiences between the entire generations of Gen Z and Gen X are even — even Stevens.
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