L - Unit 5 - A2

The 20-Somethings!

Leo, aged 28

I Had a real shock the other day. My little nephew, he’s six, said to me ‘Uncle Leo, when you were a little boy did they have telephones?’ I couldn't believe it. I said: ‘Of course we had telephones. How old do you think I am?’ Then he said: ‘But did you have mobile phones?’ And I thought, ‘did we?’ I can’t remember life without mobile phones, but in fact ... -er, I think I was about eight when my dad got one. ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘When I was eight’. ‘Aha!’ said my nephew ‘I knew it. You are old’. I didn’t like hearing that! I’m 28 and I don't feel grown-up at all. I have a great life - a good job, lots of friends, I go out with them most nights. I go to the gym every morning. I’m going to buy a flat by the river next year. Maybe when I’m in my 30s I'll get married and start a family.

Elsa, aged 26

I finished university and I started training to be a lawyer. I was earning good money and, in many ways, I had a good life but, -er, the more I studied law the more I hated it, I was bored and miserable - so 1 decided to give it all up and go travelling. I was away for a year. I went to Australia, New Zealand, North and South America - it was fantastic, but then I arrived back home. I was now 24 and with no money, no job, and nowhere to live. I moved back with mum and dad - they’re wonderful, they don’t make me pay rent, but - oh dear - it’s like being a little girl again. At the moment I’m working as a waitress just to make a bit of money and my dad keeps asking ‘When are you going to find a real job?’, and mum says: ‘When I was your age I was married with two children’. Married with kids! I don’t feel old enough for that! I've got a boyfriend but we're not thinking of getting married. Maybe I'll train to be a teacher, now that’s a real job.

Dan, aged 24

When I left home at 18 I thought that was it - ‘Goodbye mum and dad’. Now, six years later, I’m back! My college days were great - I worked hard and played hard but I left with huge debts - over £15,000. I thought, ‘No problem, I'll just get a job and pay it back’. I moved into a flat with some friends and I was lucky - I got a job pretty quickly, but ... I want to be a journalist and the only way is to begin at the bottom. I’m a very junior reporter for a small local newspaper. I love working there, but I only earn £16,000 a year. I couldn’t afford the rent for the flat, so here I am, back with mum and dad. They call us the boomerang kids’ - you know, kids who grow up, leave home, and then move back again. Lots of my friends are doing the same, my girlfriend is back with her mum too. One day we're hoping to marry and get a place of our own, but that probably won't be for a few years. You can’t grow up when you're still at home with your parents. I'm fed up.