I was born between 1981-2000 and I am a part of a generation that is notorious for their technology addictions and deserving attitudes.
I'm a millennial. And I'm appalled at the way people my age act.
Not only am I appalled, but I'm also a little worried.
We seem to be turning into a generation of people who think everything is handed to them. We never say thank you, we don't hold the door for others, we give dirty looks to people walking by because we can, and when things aren't handed to us, we get angry.
Though we are entitled and act like we're the best thing that's happened since sliced bread, there also seems to be quite a bit of self-hatred. What is happening here?
As a millennial woman, I'm calling for us to stop doing this to ourselves. We must prove to other generations that they're wrong about us.
We need to start understanding that we have to WORK for what we want. Going to a top business school isn't going to hand us a top job. Being good at technology doesn't set us apart from any other member of our generation. Having an attitude definitely doesn't earn us the respect of our elders.
Then there's this self hatred. We always seem to be putting ourselves down for everything we do. Obviously, we can always push ourselves to be better, but we need to be forgiving too. We all make mistakes, and we can learn from them. We can't let a single bad test, day, friend, or situation define how we see ourselves.
This week, I saw a quote from Mindy Kaling (who I happen to think rocks) and she argues that "people feel really uncomfortable around women who don't hate themselves."
Wow. Think about that for a second. Be the millennial she's talking about in this quote. Exhibit the powerful knowledge you have. You ARE a member of the technologically sound generation. You are powerful. You are strong. You can love yourself and work hard and be proud of what you do and that's how you'll get to the top. Be that kind of millennial. Show the world what an amazing generation we CAN be, not a lazy entitled rude one like it would be easy to be.
