Emerging into Exile

The message depicted by the author Edward W. Said in his book “Reflections on Exile and Other Essays” published about 11 years ago, yet still vividly applicable today, allowed me to connect with the new psychological state of emerging adulthood, as explained in the book “Emerging Adulthood” by Arnett.
 
“ . . . the age of anxiety and estrangement” is the modern revelation of exile and it is exactly how older adolescents and younger adults have identified themselves in previous studies.

“ . . . the displaced person” is the precise description for individuals who do not define themselves as a high school teenager nor an independent adult.
The exile of uncertainty and detachment from the main source; life . . . future . . . purpose. Unplugged from the

inner-self . . .  native roots

longings . . . native desires

The core of a persons emotional need,“ To be rooted,” ~ Simone Weil. In the generation known as the baby boomers, an individuals psychological and life development was quickly established by age 22. The adult had graduated high school, earned a bachelor’s degree, had a stable job, and probably married in pursue of a firstborn. If this same person were interjected in today’s society, the individual would grow into the 21^st century exile. 

The exile of not following the preconceived cultural norm.
The exile of detaching from the cultural standards of the “ideal” life time-line. 

        Modern day adults between the ages of 18 –24 are still “testing the waters” and are avoiding exiling from their parent’s home. These adults, known as emerging adults are graduating high school oblivious as to which path to take while living a 6-year journey (as oppose to a 4-year journey) to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. 

Some people might question the wrong in taking longer than what it should do accomplish certain goals. 

I think it is a matter of not elongating the inevitable exile that is to come to each one of us, because it is only a matter of time until we are all 

. . . exiled from our native roots, which ever those might be.


***The video presented in this blog is a great description of the "emerging adulthood" state and its association to exile, as I view it. It touched upon one of the discussions we had in class too.