Heyo friends!
If you even remotely know me, you have probably have heard me strongly advocate (rant) for my generation; I am "hashtag" team millennial (which is actually a redundancy because simply placing the word “hashtag” already implied my support of the millennial lifestyle). But anyway, am I aware that some people read the bold phrase and cringed? Short answer: yes. Long answer: I mean, sure, it's true that certain millennial's are notorious for some legit screen time, entitlement, spontaneity, materialistic mindsets, and okay I’m going to throw up if I continue with this bologna (gentle language). The problem with these stereotypes is that there are individuals of all generations that possess at least one of these qualities- key word being individuals. In fact, there is not a single person who will read this that will be without flaw, so what gives anyone the right to label a person, group, or generation by their unfavorable qualities rather than their favorable qualities? The first mission of this article is to encourage readers to step out of the mindset of looking past their flaws in order to point out the flaws of others. The goal is to label people by their life-giving traits which make the world beautiful. Once we shed the haste to find blemish of others, we start to identify others by their worth as individuals, and for the sake of this article, as generations.
So while I’m climbing down from my soap box, I want to assure all readers who are questioning why they even opened another one of my “rants” that I am going somewhere with all this word vomit. I want to tell about the worth that I see in Hashtag Team Millennial. Among many other favorable labels that could be given, I’m identifying this generation as one of Dreamers, one of Risk Takers, and one of Passion.
It’s no secret that this generation has high expectations of themselves, of the unknown, of God, of situations, etc. These wild dreams are rooted in a passion for life, and life to the fullest. People who pursue audacious dreams have a refreshing sense of respect for life. So in a sense, big dreams and passion for life are quite synonymous.
So let's begin with the high expectations of themselves and of the unknown: one of my favorite qualities of millennial's is the ability to ignore the nagging potential of failure. A dreamer wants to adventure, at all costs. But the funny thing about situations with the element of adventure is that there is almost always also an element of risk or cost. I have a friend who embodies the label of “Dreamer”. She spent a year in school, then decided that it wasn’t for her, rebelling (Ole Miss pun) against all societal expectations of people our age. She is now living in Colorado selling her art and adventuring at all possible opportunities. Reading this, you are probably thinking of how much you want her life, but also having subconscious considerations about the lack of stability in this super cool lifestyle. Let me tell you, she doesn’t care. She is living life with little consideration of what could go wrong or anyone’s opinion of her, which is really the fullest lifestyle that I can imagine. So the next mission of this article: challenging readers to have big dreams with little doubts.
The next set of high expectations that you often see in a dreamer is that of God and of situations. The next millennial who dreams big and lives passionately that I want to brag about is one that I have known less time, but respect just as much. She planned an event called "ReDefined" on the Mississippi State campus. The whole week there was 100 percent chance of thunderstorms on the night of the event. She had the chance to move the event to an indoor venue, but she believed that God put it on her heart to have the event in the outdoor venue for a reason. So outside the event was going to be, despite the weather app’s opinion. The day before the event it stormed. The morning of the event it stormed. 5pm on the day of the event: blue skies. And let me tell you: God moved through "ReDefined." Her dream of this event was a taste of the kind of blind faith that Dreamers possess. For anyone who wants to label college campuses by the keg stands, sloppy hook ups, and all-nighters, you are looking over the dreamers in college who see the potential for revival on campuses. Those unfavorable labels steal all the worth that students have. This dream of revival on campuses is really neat because hurting people and broken lifestyles surround us everywhere we go. The third challenge of this article comes from the mind of someone other than my own. So brace yourself; a really neat quote is to follow: “You don’t have to be on a mission trip to have a mission.”- some dude I don’t know. We can serve any time, any place, and any body. So if you ever see me listening to my "You Go Girl" playlist with fire in my eyes and pep in my step while I'm walking to my 8 a.m., just know that I am on a mission.
Okay, okay I don’t want anyone to think the irony of this article is lost on me. The all-knowing master of millennial's, me, is ranting that you are better than the label of “legit screen time,” while I am asking you to stare at your phone for 10+ minutes to read about "Hashtag Team Millennial." That’s okay, though, because your phone usage does not define you, and neither do the cynics who put you in a box of negative stereotypes. The only thing that has power to define you is you, so go and dream big and live passionately because trust me,the millennial lifestyle is “on fleek” (okay, at this point, I am just trying too hard with the millennial lingo).
*drops mic, anyway*
