Tag Archives: millennials

THANK YOU INTERNET – WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE YOU

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I have to admit, I watch a lot of Netflix. I love TV shows, I love stories. Most of the time, the series I watch spring out of the writer’s imagination, most of it being fiction inspired by real events. Sometimes however, I really love getting into a show that tells a true story. The Tudors, The Crown, even Vikings, are great examples of these shows. I am fascinated by what happened in years past; and truth is, history can be even more fascinating than fiction.

Most recently I watched “Kurt Seyit ve Sura,” a Turkish show set in the early 1900’s. The show was a love story adapted from a novel; which happened to narrate a real story between two people during the Russian Revolution and WWI. It is an incredibly emotional show, and there is no consolation in saying: “it’s just a show.” Because it isn’t. It happened, regardless of specific details, the story is true.

Kurt Seyit ve Sura

You might be wondering by now, where am I going with this?

Well, the show is set in times of war, were families were separated, and when going on a voyage from one country to another might mean you might not see the people you are leaving behind ever again. It made me reflect on how lucky we are as a generation.

I am also from a country that is having social and political unrest; but watching this show made me thankful about the opportunities I have, that people one hundred years ago did not even dream of. Communication and travel have never been so accessible in history.

Why not take advantage of the things we have now?

The internet has made it possible for us to stay connected with those whom we met briefly on a weekend in another city; with family members on a foreign land, and with childhood friends who went on a different direction.

 

It has never been easier to explore the world, and to enrich our lives with experiences. We can work from anywhere in the world from our laptop. Everyday there is less need to go to an office, and sit in a cubicle. The difficulty lies in our own patterns.

Because it’s the way it has been done for so long, it becomes hard to break away. Even if you consider it for a second, many of us dismiss the thought as something crazy. I invite you to consider the possibility. Allow yourself to dream. Because with that kind of exploring and adventure, comes interconnectedness and understanding. Understanding of different cultures and its people.

What would have been the fate of the people in the Russian Revolution if they had the tools we now have?

PS: If you want a real tear jerker, watch Kurt Seyit ve Sura on Netflix

JUMP TO A DIFFERENT WORLD – THANK YOU AVICII

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Not too long ago, there was a time in my life when I spent a significant amount of time in airports. Usually waiting for connecting flights. I always looked forward to the moment when I could just sit down, put my headphones on, close my eyes, and let music transport me to a different world – or a different reality.

I have gone through quite a few different music phases. When I lived in Venezuela, I would barely listen to any latin music. Now it consists of 70% of my music library. I would say there was a time 80% of what I listened to was EDM. In fact, all those times in airport, traveling back and forth from home to boarding school, then from home to university, I would let myself go with the likes of David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, and of course, Avicii.

I would say music has introduced me to different cultures and it has the power to transform my emotional state. If I let it. Music is very ingrained in a culture, it comes from it. There is a reason Latin music is very different to that of Nordic European cultures. But once you can enjoy the beat, it’s almost like a bridge opens up to a different world. Different people. Different backgrounds. Different languages… different dance moves.

Photo by Jack Gittoes

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to see Avicii perform live in Boston’s TD Garden. I remember how Levels used to make me feel. Powerful. Free. Not to mention that I even got to enjoy country music (which is usually not my style), when he managed to combine EDM and country. It was incredibly innovative.

It was with incredible sadness that I received the news about his passing this weekend. Since then, I have gone on an Avicii music binge and reminded myself what I loved about his music. How it makes me feel, how it makes millions of people feel. Every person has a different experience with EDM. It’s hard for anyone not in the scene to understand it. I could watch a 30 minute Tomorrowland aftermovie and not get bored because of a lack of plot. It’s a vibe. It’s an experience that makes you believe and know life is and can be beautiful.

“He said one day you’ll leave this world behind, so live a life you will remember. My father told me when I was just a child. These are the nights that never die” – The Nights, Avicii

Thanks Avicii for bringing us into your world and for all the wonderful goose bump inducing music.

Local Perspective: Emanuela and the Fascinating Woman that is Napoli

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“You will either deeply love her or hate her, but one thing is for sure: you will never forget her”

There is no secret from anyone that knows me that I have a deep love and endless fascination with Italy and its culture. I even lived in Rome for a time that seemed all too short. In spite of not quite speaking the language (not yet fluently but, I have ambitions), I always felt at home in the beautiful country. This week, I decided on getting the perspective of a local Italian and her city: Naples, or Napoli. I have only visited the southern city twice, and briefly, but that didn’t stop me from writing about it’s beautiful chaos and its pizza. This time I talked to a native Neapolitan: Emanuela Cervo, who described the city as a place of contrasts living together harmoniously. She mentioned a particular intensity of the city, and compared it to an incredibly fascinating woman. I most definitely agreed.

“Just like an incredibly fascinating woman, there is no way the city won’t shock you. You will either deeply love her or hate her, but one thing is for sure: you will never forget her”

I have known Emanuela for a couple of years now, we met in yet another fascinating city, New York, when she was working as an intern for the Italian Mission in the United Nations. I admire Emanuela and see her as a kindred spirit, but this time I got to know her through her love for her hometown. The city that flows in her blood and is a “bittersweet curse you bring in your heart wherever you are.”  I asked her a few questions about Napoli, and through her answers, I quickly realized it would be impossible for me to write a short article and still do her love for the city justice. Although I will try my best while still offering my perspective.

Through the questions I asked Emanuela, I became even more enamored by the city I briefly visited. She described a gorgeous microcosm that “has witnessed the course of European history, as a result of numerous civilizations that have dominated it”. Ughh, I love history. She also mentioned an interesting fact; something that envelops the city and its citizens: Because of its history, Naples has experienced many catastrophes, and as a result, the city has developed a particular cohabitation with death which translates into a fascinating esoteric approach to life. Ahh, yes, fascinating.

By now, as I write these words, I crave going back to Naples. I crave the excitement, the warm summer nights, the pizza. It feels incredibly familiar to me, for the sort of feeling that captures me in Naples is akin to the one I get when I visit my own city of Caracas, and view it with the eyes of a visitor. Perhaps it’s the cultural affinity; Italians and Latin Americans both share a cultural bond that comes from a tumultuous distant past and the shared origin of our language: Latin. Even Emanuela mentions Latin American music is very popular in Napoli for it fits the city’s rhythms! In Naples, you’ll find yourself in a city with an “ancient soul,” you will not only see it through its historical architectures – you’ll feel it.

I miss this place that was never mine. I crave the proximity to the Mediterranean and southern Italy’s beautiful islands, which many Neapolitans, as Emanuela tells me, visit in the summer weekends. Her favorites being Capri, for it’s magic, and the dream that is Positano. I had the fortune of visiting both of these places, and not only do I agree, but remember looking at Positano and feeling some magical nostalgia for the place I would soon leave. I was visiting with a couple of friends whom I told I was there with them by a weird funny irony; because this is a place that I would best enjoy with a future love.

Emanuela tells me she feels it a blessing to be a Neapolitan, and that to know the city genuinely and profoundly, it is essential to get to know some locals. The staple of a true Neapolitan is “humor and intensity” she tells me. I crave it’s delicious food (Emanuela didn’t hesitate to recommend an array of things and places to try while in Naples), I asked what I should do if I only had 24 hours in Naples. She said to stay longer. Sounds about right.

To end, she finished with these words: “Napoli is a true and genuine city, which can seem untouched by globalization from certain points of view. Getting lost in its craziness and chaos will definitely make you feel alive and its contrasts will shake you from within.”

My suspicions were I would not be able to do justice to the Napoli she described me. I was right. Not only did she tell me about Napoli’s history, about its passion for the game of “calcio,” and her recommendations for some wonderful food. She filled me with excitement to go back. On that note, I will publish a full transcript of her recount of Naples in a few days, for anyone who is curious for more.

Cheers!

Photo by Emanuela Cervo

GLOBALIZATION AND CHANGE, NOTHING NEW

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“This is what globalization is all about”

I said as I took a bite of my arepa (aka. the Venezuelan daily bread) filled with mozzarella cheese. In the background, the beat of the Norwegian DJ Kygo filled the room. I made the observation with bemusement, and my friend who had spent the last week exploring Los Angeles and some of San Jose shared the feeling; after all, my friend Gesi was from Germany, and we had known each other for two years after meeting in New York City. While taking another bite, Gesi tapped the table, which only drove the point home for me. Swedish furniture. Sweden was also present in our dining experience.

Perhaps there are still corners of the world where this kind of diversity is kept to a minimum. Perhaps it goes by unnoticed. Certainly in the metropolitan cities of the world this is no longer the case, no matter how much people fight it. The exchange of cultures is not a new tendency, it has just become quicker and more widespread in our modern age.

This past week in my current SoCal city, I had dinner with a Roman in a Neapolitan pizzeria (MiDiCi, and I recommend), had breakfast in a Cuban bakery (Porto’s) with my German friend and an Italian from Naples, had dinner with a Puerto Rican and a girl who is from Miami, but is also from Peru and Argentina, sang to the beat of Hotel California with a friend from Russia, and had quesadilla with a friend from Mexico.

I no longer look at these moments with awe, or with any sort of surprise. Maybe I should. They are wonderful moments, and I have created a life for myself where there is a constant flow and exchange of cultural ideas. Listening to a different language being spoken can be music to my ears, and often it activates my hunger for learning. For language is the gateway for culture, and a different language can even represent a slight change in personality. Often I wish my friends who know me in spoken English, knew me in spoken Spanish. It is a different experience. It is like jumping into a parallel universe and into someone else’s world.

People who are multilingual are constantly jumping between worlds with ease, and with little thought.

There is still a fight by those holding on to an idea of Patriotism. Makes sense, we are tribal beings, but tribes are not always defined by where we are born. We have the power to choose them. But with a mix of nostalgia and hope, I look at the future and I know everything I know will be different. Languages that I cherish, will most likely perish or transform with time. Most likely not in my lifetime, but it will happen. I already feel the loss, regardless of the fact that I will not see that happen. We have to learn to embrace the change; for it is nothing new, it is just becoming more and more apparent with the rapid pace of our times.

WHY OFFICE WORK IS OUT AND TRAVEL WORK IS IN

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A few days ago, out of sheer curiosity for my own past – prompted by my love/hate relationship for Facebook memories – I decided to scroll through my own profile. I went deep. Scrolled past photos of friends who I haven’t seen in a while, funny videos I had shared, political articles, and a post about remote living. I stopped short. Around two years ago I has shared an article from Fast Company about co-living spaces for digital nomads. I remember at that point the idea of living a location independent lifestyle by working on my computer and being able to move around freely was the stuff of dreams. I thought travel while working usually required a company sending you out on business trips. I hadn’t realized that in out internet age, traveling freely while working, was not only for a selected few, but millions were already on this path.

Here we are in 2018 and I feel reconnected with that idea. I have become increasingly aware of the digital nomad lifestyle; and with that, I have also become aware of the fact that I am most definitely not alone. Today, 82% of millennials have said that they are more loyal to their boss if they have flexible work options. We are just not all wired for the 9 to 5 work schedule!  For example, at the time I write these words, it is 3:05 am in Los Angeles (where I currently reside). Not to say I normally find myself writing at 3 in the morning; but many creatives types find themselves in the night owl category.

The 9 to 5 work day was created to maximize efficiency at the time of the industrial revolution. The idea was: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of sleep. Makes sense. Thing is, the world in quite different today than it was at the peak of the industrial revolution, and we shouldn’t have to adhere to those norms. My internal clock most definitely does not want to adhere to those norms, and shouldn’t have to.

Fortunately for me, and for many entering the workforce today, the rules are changing, and they are changing fast. Companies are adopting the remote work philosophy, and there are many other companies that operate completely on a remote workforce. In fact, by around 2030, the Millennial majority will likely have done away with the 9-to-5 workday entirely.  Insert happy dance.

Photo by Nubia Navarro

This is exciting for many obvious reasons. To me, since travel and discovery are some of the things which most exhilarate me, I don’t want to just be able to control the hours I work, but to be free to choose my location. After all, many of us humans are still nomadic at heart, we have been nomads for 99% of our existence. Nomad lifestyle, count me in. It is not my desire however, to move locations every few weeks, but to be able to see the world without being limited to an office space; and by having to waste another hour on commute to the office where I would sit on my laptop and use the internet.

My generation wants to get to know the world outside of a two week allotted vacation time. We are making it happen. There are more and more companies each year that are born based off of that desire. Companies like Roam, WiFly, Remote Year, and Hacker Paradise cater to digital nomads. Some are designed to help people jump-start their digital nomad career, others are for more established remote workers.

As of now, the future seems promising, and I am excited for that seed that was planted in my head over two years ago. Even though it has taken me until now to start searching for real solutions and ways to accomplish it, I am certain it will happen for myself, or any of my fellow wannabe citizens of the world.

Cheers!

Would love to hear your thoughts! Anyone else a digital nomad?