Bitching from a Gen X Rebel

Everything’s branded. Curated. Optimized. Monetized.
Even healing is a funnel. Even rebellion is a marketing tactic.

Scroll your feed and it’s all:
✨ “Regulate your nervous system and charge $10K/month.”
✨ “Be soft, but powerful.”
✨ “Don’t chase — attract.”
✨ “You’re not broke, you’re blocking abundance.”

Please.

I grew up latchkey — sarcasm, street smarts, and systems that didn’t give a damn. We weren’t told we were special. We were told to survive. And we did. Barely. So no, I’m not buying the repackaged spiritual capitalism or productivity porn disguised as “alignment.”

We came from burnout before burnout had a name.

We came from burnout before burnout had a name.
Now? We’re told to meditate it away, light a candle, and call it healing — while the real work sits in the corner, ignored, because it can’t be captured in a flat lay. We love the shiny parts — the $150 leggings, the branded water bottles, the hand-poured soy candles. We’ll post the perfect yoga mat shot, but the soul work? The ugly, messy, face-down-on-the-floor truth? That doesn’t make the feed. And now we’ve got twenty-something yoga teachers, barely out of their parents’ houses, telling us how to “find our center” like they’ve lived through anything close to collapse. It’s like they say — when cops start to look young to you, you’re old. Well… yep.

It’s like they say — when cops start to look young to you, you’re old. Well… yep.

And if things are so much “better” now, explain this: we’ve split into the 1% and everyone else. Relationships are optional. Incels are a thing. Being a supportive partner or friend is optional. We sit across from each other at dinner and scroll our phones. Tell me again how we’re evolving.

And here’s the thing: I love healing.
I love growth.
But I want it real. Not repackaged. Not pastel-filtered. Not stripped of context, capacity, or collective grief.

Gen X — the bridge generation — was taught not to need anyone.

Gen X — the bridge generation — was taught not to need anyone. That made us fierce. It also made us tired. And the world still asks us to hold it all together while smiling through spiritual bypassing and performative empowerment.

I’m not here to pretend it’s fine.
I’m not here to “raise my vibe” until I dissociate.
I’m here to say:
Burn it down if you need to.
Then build something better — from the ash, the ache, the truth.

Because what’s sacred now?
Honesty.
Integrity.
Giving a damn without selling your soul for a like, a follower, or a swipe file.

Real rebellion at this age?
It’s being wildly intuitive, strategic as hell, and fully human.
It’s saying no to noise.
It’s showing up with grit, clarity, and a middle finger to anything that smells like bullshit — even if it’s wearing a crystal crown.

This isn’t about being edgy.
It’s about remembering who we are.

No, I’m not playing the algorithm game.
No, I’m not polishing my process for mass appeal.
No, I don’t need another platform telling me what trend to become.

I want to work with real people, in real time, doing real soul work that matters.

I care enough to disrupt.

So yeah, this is me — bitching.
But it’s also me calling it out because I care.
I care enough to disrupt.
I care enough to still believe in depth over dopamine.
I care enough to create from the marrow, not the metrics.

And I know I’m not the only one.