Generation Y? More like Generation N: Physically living up to the standards of society's most narcissistic generation

Today’s generation of adolescents and young adults have set the new standard for self-inflated egos everywhere. No other generation has come close to the amount of effort it takes to have the perfect body. Today’s middle to upper-class society is one driven by a notion that to look perfect is to be perfect and that a lack of effort on one’s physical appearance is as much of a faux pas as wearing sandals with socks (I’m sorry to all you sandal-sock practitioners out there but you just shouldn’t do that). At one point or another, all of us in this demographic have been caught up in the hype of what it means to be considered above average looking and this hype has unfortunately created a notion where becoming above average is as simple as having a certain body type.

I clearly remember the phase I went through when I decided to keep up with the images of perfection that are constantly reiterated through the varied mediums we encounter throughout the day. It was right after the first summer where I landed a full time unionized job and therefore I had a lot of cash with nothing to spend it on. As I’m sure many of you can testify about your first well-paying job, I spent the money on my car, food and partying. By the end of the summer I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life and decided I needed a big change. Now, this isn’t to say people bugged me, or anyone pressured me to change; I was actually performing well in sport because of my ability to physically handle the competition on the lacrosse floor and the opposite sex still gave me the same attention as before. However, as I fell victim to our generation’s expectations of perfection, my decision was purely based on wanting to physically become as close to that expectation as possible.

Having an athletic background only hastened the journey to my goal, as in the end, I credit the change I made to the dedication to a program; probably the most difficult aspect of any physical/fitness goal. After months of training five, sometimes six days a week, making myself terrified of consuming carbs, and judging my progress in the mirror, not on performance or health, I had never looked fitter in my life. However (and this is a big however), reality set in to the cost of what it takes to have the body that every fitness salesman says could be yours with little effort.

After shedding all the weight and becoming the apparent fitness spokesman I looked like, I arrived at next year’s lacrosse try-outs appearing ready to run circles around my fellow competitors. I learned quickly that this would not be the case. As I had become so concerned with my looks as apposed to my performance, I had literally trained myself to perform worse and the first few days of try-outs were pure agony; a terrible diet and incorrect training regime had me on the brink of unconsciousness at times and I was constantly sick to my stomach. Let this story be a lesson to all that one can essentially become the epitome of physical perfection relatively easily, however, one best be prepared for that commitment to basically effect every aspect of their life.

Since that point I have (physically and professionally) learned a lot about my body and have come to understand that what is “perfect” in the eyes of society is usually not the case for the individual. I understand now that physically resembling the standard of the faultless bodies we as a generation have come to think of as perfect, has more to do with genetics than how much you hit the gym. Case in point, plastic surgery, steroids, fitness supplements, tanning salons, etc., all work to try to change what most people were simply not born to look like and usually results in those unnatural looks being physically obvious. I have personally concluded that being physically and mentally healthy outweighs having the picture perfect look ten-fold.

By now, some of you are probably saying, “this is old news, why did you just waste my time writing this garbage?” Well, it is important for our generation to start hearing that perfection is found within ourselves not what we are told and that perfection ALWAYS looks different. In the end this is the message I wanted to express: although all of us are at the mercy of our peers, no one can fault someone who is physically and mentally healthy, therefore this should be everyone’s goal when trying to become the person they have always wanted to be. Furthermore, as physical and mental health go hand in hand, they should compliment each other, not be adversaries. Over-stressing about physical demeanor only leads to an excess of mental anxiety and making poor decisions; if you don’t believe that, ask Heidi Montag or the cast of the Jersey Shore.

Demanding perfection in oneself is not a negative outlook on life but one must know that individual perfection is not necessarily designated by the masses. We live in a generation whose physical expectations have come to exceed the natural limitations of the average person. That being said, if you are one of the people striving to become everyone’s dream of physical perfection, well, I wish you good luck sir or madam, because you are going to need it. However, if your goal is to be physically healthy and keep a good, confident head on your shoulders, you should already be commended.


Content with his lack of abs,

Matias M. Barchman