I read an interesting article today that really opened up my mind. It challenged some of my misconceptions about my own generation. Crazy, right?! This article was a rather good argument against the reputation millennials have as being lazy, stupid, self-obsessed, lacking values, and having no direction in life.
I must be honest: in a way, I was a bit judgmental of today's twenty-somethings. As if my friends weren't evidence enough that there are young people out there who are fabulous globally-aware citizens, I somehow adopted the attitude that my generation was "doomed." We use social media way too much, we'd rather text than call, and popular music nowadays is overflowing with sex, riches, and more sex.
But wait! What if millennials aren't a one-size-fits-all kind of group? What if we were a generation that is innovative, challenged, and ambitious, and -gasp- responsible? Here's the perspective I gained after some careful consideration:
Millennials are lazy. Hang on a second. Aren't many of us going to college (or already out of college?) Last time I checked, higher education required a lot of hard work. Plus, with the financial disaster bestowed upon us, many of us have had to work while going to school, giving us excellent time-management skills and a sense of responsibility. Moreover, with all of the competition out there, young adults have had to work extremely hard to make themselves look appealing on their transcripts. That means getting good grades in school, doing extracurricular activities, getting part-time jobs, and engaging in volunteer work. That doesn't sound lazy to me.
Millennials are stupid. Say what? Most of us have enough technological know-how to navigate a webpage in Japanese with our hands tied behind our back. We're exposed to so many topics during high school and college that weren't even a possibility for our parents. We can take a course on survivalist skills or the portrayal of women in literature throughout the centuries or ancient religions. We have loads of educational resources available to us, be it documentaries, podcasts, TED talks, digital encyclopedias, and scholarly databases. Stupid? Hah!
Millennials are self-obsessed. Hm, it's easy to see why someone might say this. Yet with the emphasis that many schools place on volunteer work, most millennials have learned just how important it is to help their neighbor. Plus, just because someone is using their phone or laptop, it doesn't mean they're glossing through Facebook feeds and tweets. The Internet is a wonderful tool that has allowed countless organizations and student-run initiatives to flourish. And those apps and social networks that we use so much are great places to collaborate, learn and share ideas, and find new connections and jobs.
Millennials lack values. Not so. Yes, it is very easy to become numb to the flagrant nudity, cursing, and sexuality that we see in the media, but that doesn't mean that we're all in agreement with it. I know many young people who would rather read up on current events or apply for scholarships and jobs or connect with new people. And by the way, my church is made mostly of young families and millennials.
Millennials have no direction. On the contrary, we have been brought up to know damn well where we're going, especially because we were born into a society where healthcare, education, and the distribution of wealth are so out of whack. It's not so easy anymore; we can go to college, but many of us end up spending 4 years studying for a job that we're not even sure is going to exist when we graduate. We start seeking out opportunities in middle school to pursue our interests and rack up experience so that we can get a decent job and start paying off those student loans. We network with people and seek new experiences so that we can gain new skills and friendships. We're putting off marriage and children because we want to focus on creating a firm foundation so as to be financially, emotionally, and mentally ready for that new stage of life.
Now I can see that millennials aren't all that bad. We all know that we shouldn't discriminate, and that includes age discrimination as well.
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