Born in the wrong era?

What if you wake up one morning and find yourself in an entirely different world, where people are dressed in ruffles and ornate brocaded fabrics and intricately folded neck cloths, simple shirts, stark jackets and leg-hugging breeches? You may even be under the roof of an old enormous Georgian house made of stone with grand entrances and beautiful classical porches. You can even play the pianoforte or does cotillion dance at formal gatherings.

This is the era of Jane Austen. Long before the invention of afternoon tea. The time when ladies loved to stroll along the promenades of Brighton and spend a few hours to show off their fans and fashion. The time where tomatoes were considered poisonous but not for long after Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson dispelled the idea. The time where manners and simple elegance is much more valued. Time where girls can marry between fifteen and thirty. The time when at twenty-seven and you have no guy to marry yet, you are deemed for spinsterhood. Time when the hunt for a husband was serious business. The upper-class families would spend a serious amount of money to provide their daughters a 'season' in major flock areas. Time when thoroughbreds are of great necessity, not to mention, a fashion statement.

In fact, before, I was convinced that I was born in the wrong era. All these things around me do not impress me at all. I've been fascinated by the 18th century, obsessed even. It's just that everything's so fast, there's not much time to look around and see the view or smell the flowers. There are even times when I become lost in Austen's time in my own brief dreams. I know I am pathetic. It seemed like it was the best era where I could fit in as long as I'm rich and not a maid. But then things change.

I'm essentially glad that I wasn't born in that era. Yes, apart from having the chance of meeting a Mr. Darcy or a Captain Wentworth, I can't see many advantages in being a woman at that time. Women at that time stay at home most of the time, get married and would find herself stuck in a new home with the same duties of raising a family and running a household. There's not much to do in that time except for digging my own potatoes if you're middle class and have no servants like Jane Austen.

Well, I guess I'm lucky I was born in this era. There's a lot for me to do and the opportunities are more than a few than in Austen's time. Sure, I fancied the clothes and the way of life, being all so slow and elegant. But I wouldn't give up my medicine, indoor plumbing and Final exams for that idea.

Before I wondered if maybe I was born in the wrong era. Now, I'd rather have my internet connection and keep Mr. Darcy in my dreams. I'm sure he wouldn't mind it if I stop over again tonight anyway.