I just watched this TED talk by clinical psychologist Meg Jay. Although I just turned 28, it is starting to feel like all of my peers are turning 30 or older; and there is a lot of 30 talk on the blogs that I read. I found this talk through one of our own contributors, Erin, from Well in L.A. The topic is very interesting to me as my friends and I always find ourselves in conversations about our generation.  As the economy has changed, I think it’s a strange time to be in your 20s. Meg Jay has some insights on how to get through them in a more beneficial way.

Here are her 3 tips for 20 somethings:

1. Get some identity capital – Do something that counts toward the person that you want to be.

2. Use your weak ties – connect with your weak ties for new friends, jobs and potential life partners.

3. Pick your family – Though you might not be able to pick the family you grew up with, you can start to pick the family you will have of your own.

I’ve been thinking lately, now that she’s back and settled, I really miss following Farrell’s travels through her posts here.  There were a lot of things about her travel posts that I liked, one of which was her Noteworthy series, a kind-of collections of lessons learned on the road.  I had a bit of an adventure away from home last weekend so I thought I’d revive the idea.

(Typewriter by Matthew Logelin

~Read the paper, start with the Arts section.

~You don’t have to go far to feel like you’ve gotten away.

~Accept invitations.

~Keep band-aids on hand for the transition from winter to summer shoes.

~Whatever you’re feeling right now is okay.

One of the cool things about living in LA is being able to attend free movie screenings. Last night, I went to see a screening of the new movie The East. This eco-thriller stars Brit Marling who also happens to be my girl crush. She is intelligent, talented, creative and beautiful. Recently, I have seen The Sound of My Voice, Another Earth and The East – all movies that she has not only starred in but also co-written. Each of these movies stayed with me for days, even weeks, after I saw them. They all leave you wanting more. After the screening last night, there was a Q & A with Brit (actress, co-writer, girl crush) and Zal Batmanglij (director and co-writer). It was awesome to hear them talk about their lives, their successes and goals for their movies together. The whole experience was interesting and inspiring.

If you haven’t seen any of movies that I mentioned, please do. I loved all 3 of them.