Upset young adult wants to rejoin the '90s
Dear Amy: I am 24 years old. I am a happy person overall, but lately I've been feeling down. With everything going on in today's world, and the state of society these days, it scares me at times.
I felt safe in the '90s. Not so much seemed to be happening back then. Life was simpler. Is what I'm experiencing normal, or is it something more?
-- Feeling Down in CT
Dear Feeling Down: Life definitely felt simpler for you in the '90s, because you were a child in the '90s. Chances are that in 1997, for instance, your life revolved around getting through ninth grade.
I was an adult in the '90s, and life did not necessarily seem better or simpler then -- at least to me. Our national life ratcheted between good times and bad, calm times and scandal, peace and conflict.
What you are experiencing now might be a very real trough, or it might be your growing awareness of your own personal responsibilities and relative sense of powerlessness.
I do believe that people who feel overly worried, scared or depressed about national and international affairs would feel better by controlling the constant wash of news and fake news they are exposed to, and by getting off the couch and doing something.
Please take this opportunity to volunteer in your community and do your best to make this world a better place.
Dear Amy: I have two children with my ex-husband. His parents only see our children at Christmas. These grandparents are only active in the lives of some of the grandchildren.
Recently they invited our youngest child to a show, and I was excited that they had reached out. At the end of the call, after arrangements had been made, they told me that the cost of the outing would be $30.
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