Changing and Challenging Social Trends

Pearly and Peterson are working in the same team at a renowned MNC. It is natural for any being to develop openness and likeability when they spend 7-9 hours 5 days a week in proximity. Pearly and Peterson are poles apart in every aspect of life: she is a cusp between Babyboomers and Millenials, whereas he is Gen Z; she is delicate and sensitive to words and gestures, whereas he doesn't understand most of the words she uses though they speak in the same old official language English; she is humble, subtle and both emotionally and intellectually intuitive, whereas he is loud, shallow, frivolous and has the vanity of nothingness.

Though Pearly has fourteen years of experience, she is very respectful to people and never uses filthy language. Her colleagues think she is younger than everyone due to her baby face and big eyes. Though Peterson has only three years of experience, he never respects people's age or experience and uses the word 'fuck' in every sentence. Pearly doesn't understand how he uses the 'F' word to express every possible emotion: anger, frustration, surprise, and joy. Sometimes, she becomes speechless when he advises her about life. Also, he treats her like his pseudo-girlfriend at the office. Sadly, she tries to draw boundaries in multiple expressions by avoiding his messages, ignoring his flirty comments, and telling him about her ethical standards. As he is dumb to her language and subtle gestures, he doesn't once pick her cues.

Pearly doesn't want to hurt Peterson, as she perceives him as a good human being though they have many differences. He cares about animals and volunteers to all activities hosted by the corporate social responsibility team. Hence, Pearly has developed a tolerance for his over-the-top attitude. He keeps sharing with her about his sexual affairs and beliefs, such as sex is merely a physical need and has nothing to do with one's character or emotions. She doesn't let him invade her space. She is the eldest in her team, and most of her team members belong to Gen Z. Openly discussing porn sites and stars, loudly talking about people's sexual orientation, and showing profiles from dating sites is a fun talk at leisure time.

Pearly usually doesn't understand most of their abbreviated language, but she doesn't want to feel left out, so she keeps participating as a passive observer with smiles and nods. Inside her head, she keeps thinking about what happened to this generation and why they overrate sex and dirty language. While she was growing up, she never had a phone or computer; even television was prohibited in her household until she completed her postgraduation. Pearly's parents put her in as many classes as possible, such as Bharathanatyam and Carnatic music, language, and computer. She spent her adolescent years rigorously in back-to-back learning activities and household chores; hence, trying to learn, perform, and be perfect gives her an adrenaline rush. She is passionate about philosophies, music, art, and literature. She can criticize a movie, song, poem, or work of art and literature all day. She never had a chance to learn what sex is until she turned 25. No wonder! She is appalled by these Gen Z youngsters who mostly converse with sexual connotations.

Peterson keeps flirting with Pearly, showing her his profiles from dating sites and even openly recommending her porn sites. Sometimes, she is super annoyed by his behavior, but mostly she gives a damn about his stupid talks. At times, she says how meaningless and unrelatable his conversations are to her. He instantly calls a couple of their teammates, laughs at her old-school principles, and makes her feel small and old. She loses her mind thinking if she is that backward in her thoughts and opinions. She asks herself why it is a big deal to fit in with these senseless youngsters. As she has been working with them daily, she keeps pushing herself to fit in. The more she tries, the more she is frustrated.

Pearly fights constantly to bridge the gap between mindsets and transitions of 10-15 years younger society. After a point, she stopped fighting and started embracing her values and individuality. Suddenly, she acts gutsy and talks back to Peterson loud and clear. She draws a clear boundary calling him bro and proving him as dim-witted whenever necessary. If he brings in other team members for support, she throws exceptionally witty arguments, shuts everyone off, and openly intimidates them with knowledgeable facts. 

One such instance: Peterson talks so loudly that RRR will win multiple Oscars, and the whole gang raves about the movie so much. She interferes and passes her snide remarks: "at least the Oscars is the only space that encourages the true artists with potential and caliber who make movies for just art's sake and not for the audience's sake. RRR has earned lots of money that itself served its purpose of mass appeal, which I truly found overrated. Why should it steal opportunities and hope of people who work purely for artistic recognition." Peterson instantly stands from his chair and tells her, "Wait and see, the movie is going to get recognition for Indian cinema on the world stage!" She replies, "Of course, that's what scares me: Indian Cinema will be recognized for an over-the-top, dumb fictional story that was written only for mass appeal. Also, I don't care if it wins 100 Oscars; just because the whole world glorifies something, I need not agree with it, and I am not afraid of saying how I feel about it." Peterson as usual says: "What the F***!" She shrugs her shoulder, rolls her eyes, and walks off from her desk. 

After a few such arguments, Peterson doesn't disturb her with his flirtatious lines and stupid loud nuisance. She doesn't want to fit in and openly talks her mind even if they are old-school philosophies and principles. She feels proud of who she is. She doesn't want to please the crowd anymore. She embraces her years of experience and wisdom and expects nothing less than respect. Of course, the world keeps changing; she has to change accordingly by only learning and adopting the new skillsets that are necessary to stay relevant. She doesn't need to change her values and opinions just to fit in with the group of people who don't respect them, whether they are younger or older. Growing old is a graceful process, and everyone needs to embrace it with elegance and dignity.