@thrift_bee: I’ve seen variations on what people consider the years of millennial optimism era (for me it was 2007-2014) but it seems to encompass everything from tumblr kids to tweemo, indie sleaze to Midwest emo, Twee and hipness purgatory and soft grunge. The overarching theme of it all was young adult culture in the late 2000s and early 2010s that existed in a time of hope. There were still plenty of things wrong with the world during that era (arguably less, but the recession as one example was a truly rough time for many). The key difference was the optimistic outlook on future change, embodied by Obama’s presidency and manifested in a sincere creative output from a generation just stepping into adulthood. The 90s childhood messaging about sincerity, effort and care being able to take down baddies and villains was reinforced by the 2008 election. While it was known there were issues, there was also a sense of energy about being able to change these things with the right amount of determination. Doing the right thing would yield the right results, and this mindset also applied to things like jobs and finances. While still young and broke at the time, there was a belief in the fruits of labor, which resulted in a sense of less pressure (“it’s tough now, but if I keep this up, it’ll change!”). This allowed for a celebration and comfort in what was seen as a temporary stage of instability. Millennials broadly believed in making lemonade out of life’s lemons: turning affordable secondhand alternatives into a love of vintage, supporting and working small creative business endeavors as an alternative to those evasive corporate jobs, writing music that was unapologetically heartfelt and even ironically swathing sloppy self-destructive nights out in glitter and fur (indie sleaze). Everything changed with the 2016 election and I don’t need to recap that since we’re still all living it, but that optimism came to a screeching halt. It’s no wonder that a decade out, we are now seeing a nostalgia for this time. Could we recapture our penchant for lemonade? If you’re a millennial, I think it’s possible to lean back into some of the joys you had in that era. For me, that’s listening to cds again instead of streaming, and reclaiming some of my less polished creative pursuits, before a career drained the fun out of it. If you’re Gen Z, I’m curious— what, if anything, would allow you to feel like you’ve stepped back into 2010 for a day?

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Friday 05 December 2025 19:16:19 GMT