Rose basketball highlights
Editor notes generational differences
TUES.| 3-12-24 | OPINION
Growing up I spent a lot of time around family, especially my grandparents. Normally I see my grandparents about once a week, but recently I have been spending a lot more time with them and have noticed a lot of differences in the way we live our lives. Usually when they are around they talk about the news, family drama or drama going on in the clubs that they are in, but recently they have been very critical of the way my family and I do things.
Normally grandparents portray themselves as loving and sweet people. However, my grandparents are what someone would call a “hover parent”. They are simply always right and have to make sure that I am on task while doing homework or studying at all times. I specifically remember this one time in the fourth grade when I got an 86 on a math time test and my grandma went ballistic. I think this is because they were raised in an environment where if you were to get a bad grade then you would be harshly punished, so most people did well in school.
Graphic by Jonathan Gates
I have also noticed how critical they can be of the way that my generation dresses. For example, on Christmas, my brother was wearing a sweater that was a little torn up and my grandparents said “Did you get that half off”. I have also noticed a lot of grandparents making comments about our generation's weight and how much we eat. I don't think they understand that someone could take offense when they say these things because they were raised with people making comments like this.
Grandparents also have very set schedules, like nights when they go out for dinner or eat in and cook. Being around my grandparents so much makes them stressed because I am a go-with-the-flow type of person, so when they ask me what I'm doing for dinner and I say I’m not sure yet, they sound very disappointed and say that I should probably plan out what I am doing.
When people, especially family members, make these negative comments it can really hurt you. When my grandparents make these comments I really take it to heart when I know that I should be taking it with a grain of salt because they are just stuck in their ways. This really gets to me when they say things about insecurities that I have especially my physical appearance. I have learned to just let this roll off my back over time but it still doesn't make it right for them to say these things.
Although some grandparents are very judgemental and live their lives differently, we should still treat them with respect. Some people lose sight of this which causes them to lose that connection with their grandparents, I however, find it very important to maintain a close relationship with my grandparents, even though they may voice their opinion of how my way is wrong and theirs is right from time to time.
