If you’re anything like me, your typical day as a member of Gen Z consists of listing out everything you want to accomplish that day the night before, waking up with a newfound commitment to being productive (after getting that random urge at 3 a.m. to completely take control of your life), then ultimately not getting everything done that you’d hoped to, making you feel horrible by the time the sun sets. This issue of constantly needing to feel productive and that I’m not “wasting” any time on more “trivial” matters, such as watching a movie or going for a walk (literally just basic self-care activities), is something I deal with on a daily basis, and I bet you have too, at one point or another. To me, members of Gen Z give off the general vibe that they want to do so much in this world, yet don’t know where to start, or maybe just lack the motivation, and feel an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction in life. No matter what may be causing this thought spiral, it’s not a fun one to have.
Though combating the feeling of failure that creeps in the back of my mind after a particularly unproductive day is no easy feat, I’ve found one coping mechanism that’s just so ridiculously specific that it actually works: laying on my bed, flat on my back, playing Billy Joel’s “Vienna” through my headphones (just loud enough to feel like I’m surrounded by the song, but not too loud that it’s uncomfortable), and just visualizing. The song’s melancholic yet hopeful tone is the perfect balance to help me calm myself down and remind myself that it’s more than okay to take a break once in a while. Gen Z, if you’re anything like me, you need to listen to this song ASAP.
I absolutely adore everything about “Vienna,” but there are a few specific lines that get me every time. The general message of this song is that old age “is not something to dread, but something to embrace.” That’s why I love the chorus in general, some of the lines being “But you know that when the truth is told, you could get what you want or you could just get old.” I love these lines because, to me, they’re saying that aging doesn’t have to be scary, you can still try to accomplish your life goals as you get older, or on the other hand, if you feel you can’t because you’re “too old” that’s all you will become…old. Aging doesn’t have to be a scary thing, getting older does not mean becoming less useful. I think this is a really important point that this song makes because I know lots of people are scared of growing older and feel pressured to make all their wildest dreams come true before they’re out of college and are forced to get a “real” job. I know this is something I dread, as I don’t want to feel like I’m wasting my life away in a run-of-the-mill 9-to-5 job. However, these lines in “Vienna” bring me comfort because they remind me that I have my whole life to accomplish my biggest aspirations, I don’t have to unnecessarily pressure myself to get them done before I “get old”.
Another line that has always been a favorite of mine is “You can’t be everything you wanna be before your time, although it’s so romantic on the borderline tonight.” To me, these lines are saying that, though many of us have so many life goals that we dream of accomplishing, the reality is that we just may not get them all done in our lifetime, or perhaps in our youth, and that’s okay. Though it’s romantic to think about living our perfect life and accomplishing all of our wildest dreams, we need to realize that this may not happen, or it may happen much later in life than we’d like, and we shouldn’t get down on ourselves about it, because at the end of the day, “Vienna,” old age, waits for us, and we’re still able to work towards our goals then.
A final line that I find extremely comforting and absolutely love is “You’ve got your passion, you’ve got your pride, but don’t you know that only fools are satisfied?”. I love this line because I feel like it encompasses the song’s deeper meaning perfectly: We’re always going to be pining for that perfect life and accomplishing all of our life goals, preferably at a young age. This line reminds us that, realistically, we’ll never be satisfied with ourselves, no matter what kind of life we lead or what accomplishments we achieve, and the sooner we realize this, the closer we are to being able to be completely happy with ourselves no matter what.
Though this song can be seen as extremely melancholic, it comforts me to be able to listen to it and remind myself to slow down for a bit, and that it’s okay to take a break once in a while. It’s perfectly fine to have hopes and dreams for life, as long as your happiness doesn’t depend on your completion of them. When you attach your happiness and satisfaction with life solely on how hard you work and on how many of your aspirations you accomplish, you will almost never be happy, because you’ll feel like you always need to be working, or maybe you won’t ever be able to complete certain goals you set for yourself. The quicker you realize this, the sooner you’ll be able to allow yourself to feel fully happy in life, no matter how many goals you’ve accomplished. That’s why I think “Vienna” is such a good song for Gen Z — we’re all heading into the workforce relatively soon, and I think it’s important to keep this song’s meaning in the back of our minds as we do. It’s inevitable that we won’t complete all of our life goals, but that’s okay, there’s no need to overwork ourselves to try and accomplish them now before we get a “real job” that we’ll just be stuck in until we retire. Remembering to take things slow and appreciate your life for all that it is now, rather than attaching your happiness to specific goals you want to achieve, is a key step in being able to feel completely at peace with yourself and ultimately lead a happier, more fulfilling life.