Between Streetlights and ScreensBy Annette Camp June 25, 2025
I was born in the 1970s.I’m Generation X.And I’m proud to be one.
We are the original latchkey kids.The ones who walked home from schoolwith a house key around our necksand a note on the counter that said,“Dinner’s in the fridge.”
We learned independence early—because we had to.Our parents were working, divorcing,or just doing their own thing.So we figured things out on our own—quietly, creatively, and with grit.
We were raised on three TV channels,Saturday morning cartoons,and streetlights as curfews.We played outside untilthe dusk buzzed us home.
We are the mixtape makers.The Walkman warriors.The ones who rewound VHS tapes,recorded songs off the radio,and waited weeks for filmto be developed.
We grew up withMr. Rogers, Sesame Street,Schoolhouse Rock,The Brady Bunch, The Muppets,and Soul Train.
We also watchedthe Berlin Wall fall,the Challenger explode,and MTV actually play music.
We watched the world change, fast.We saw the end of the Vietnam War.Lived through the Cold War,the crack epidemic,“Just Say No” campaigns,and the AIDS crisis.
We’ve seen technology evolvefrom Atari to AI.We danced to vinyl,then cassettes,then CDs—memorizing lyricslong before Google could help.
We survived rotary phones,busy signals,floppy disks,and dial-up modems.We printed pixelated bannerson dot matrix printersthat took all afternoon.We learned to code, just tochange our MySpace page.
We were the last generationto grow up without the internetand the first to raise kidsin a world that never shuts off.
We lived before likes, hashtags,and constant comparison.Privacy was real.Mistakes were our own,not viral content.
We straddle two worlds:Analog and digital.Pay phones and smartphones.Common sense and constant scroll.
We entered adulthoodthrough recessions,layoffs,downsizing,and broken promises—but we kept going.
We never expected life to be easy—just real.We were told to keep our heads downand get to work.No hand-holding.No “safe spaces.”Just figure it out.And we did.
We’ve seen empires fall,systems fail,ideals shift—but we’re still here.
We’ve been raising families,caring for aging parents,and learning how to feelin a world that told usto toughen up.
We are the quiet rebels.The underdogs.The skeptics who still hope.
We’ve seen enough to question everythingbut we still believe in doing better.In showing up.In authenticityover image.
We’re breaking cycles.Drinking water.Going to therapy.Healing.Still raising hellwhen it matters.
We are Generation X.The quiet force.The resilient bridgebetween Boomers and Millennials,old school and what’s next.
We’re not trying to go back.We’re building forward—with wisdom,wit, andweathered hearts.
We are Generation X.And we’ve got this.