“Sigh… it’s your generation.”
“Ugh, your generation.”
“This is what your generation has come to.”
I have heard these sayings throughout my life from family, strangers, people thought to be mentors, and others. Not necessarily directed at me, but about my generation. Categorizing my friends and me and those I don’t like much and those older than me and those younger than me all into the same group. And with one reason only: to criticize us.
We get told we have poor work ethic. We get told we don’t know how to communicate. We get told that we’re overly-emotional. And all of this with the starting sentence of “It never used to be like this.”
As a person who likes history and values learning, I understand the thought process. Change is hard, but necessary. I know that sometimes people get stuck in a rut and refuse to accept change. And I think that there are some things that shouldn’t change, like being kind to one another, or being grateful for what you've been given. Other things, though, do change, and despite what some people believe is a fault of my generation, it’s actually a good thing.
Millennials have been very accepting of others- other races, other genders, other jobs, other ideas, other religions, other political views, and much more. We have ways to communicate with each other quickly and efficiently, and this doesn’t make us impatient, it’s the world that we live in. Yes, we know how to actually pick up a phone and call someone. No, sometimes that isn’t the best way to get a hold of someone. Yes, we make plans last minute. No, that doesn’t mean we’re trying to blow another person off. Yes, we have idealistic views of how the world could look. No, we don’t think that the world is filled with roses and waterfalls and rainbows. Yes, we can know what we want. No, we don’t think that we deserve to have it handed to us on a silver platter.
These statements are general statements. They don’t reflect every millennial in this world. There are some who are spoiled, some who purposefully use texting to manipulate others, some who are racist, or sexist, some who have radical, terrible ideas. But every generation has these people, every generation has groups of people who stand out and negatively impact how the generation is viewed.
I’m not sorry for my generation. We’ve become less focused (typically) on race and colour and more accepting of interracial relationships, friendships, and marriages. We’ve opened up the world to new forms of idea sharing, of reaching out to others, of showing our personalities. Being a millennial, I feel I don’t have to hide who I am. I don’t agree with everyone around me, but that’s the beauty of it. I don’t judge others for their decisions, lifestyles, or choices, because it’s not me. This doesn’t make me selfish, it makes me accepting.
Some of us millennials have become a generation to try and lessen the use of phrases like “man up” and “you just have to wait for HIM to call YOU, Sweetie.” We’ve become observant of gender equality and gender stereotypes. We try to accept people while still sharing our opinions. And the thing that I love most about us is how we tend to care for another person’s emotions and feelings. We can recognize our emotions and aren’t afraid of showing them. It’s not wrong to feel depressed or anxious, it's not something we should feel embarrassed about, it’s something that we can learn from.
I’m grateful to live in a world where I can text someone in the blink of an eye, can create a blog in minutes, can research anything on the internet at any time, can hear different opinions and see different perspectives. Nothing is set in stone with us. Nothing needs to be. Because with millennials and our ideas, inventions, and perspectives, we are changing the world little by little, whether others like to admit it or not. The problems people have with millennials are not problems: they’re the result of changing times and huge advancements in almost every area. Every generation has significant value to the world- yes, even us millennials.
