When I took my freshman seminar class, one of the first things my teacher told us is that you're smarter than you think....and I realized he was right. He said that since this generation is connected to technology, a lot of people from previous generations would say that we aren't as smart as people used to be. He knew that someone calling us smart was something we didn't hear very often.
Generations are different. I did a paper on generational differences in Composition-One. One of the big differences was people from our grandparent's generation had a life that revolved around work. Slowly, people from the recent generation are working as a hobby and not as a necessity. We look for jobs we will enjoy, and why wouldn't we? It's easier. Sure, we think a lot about convenience, but although we have different approaches, we still get the job done.
It surprised me when my teacher said that we were smarter than we thought because I feel like we are constantly told that we are dumb because of our technology, attitude, work ethic, and hobbies. Technology makes things easier for us. We can search google for anything we need to know or an app that is easily accessible from our phone to talk to anyone we want. Technology opened our eyes to an easier way. Naturally, we made an easier way for everything.
That's where people who grew up without technology call it a "poor work ethic." But the truth is, we function differently. Like my teacher said, we have knowledge that other people didn't use to have access to before. It just depends on how we use that information. Don't get me wrong, I know all people are like this. But not many think this is true. A teenager is a teenager. The same generic rebellious stereotype is used for all generations but in a different way.
One thing I strongly believe in is positive thinking. I believe that if you think you are going succeed, you have a better chance of succeeding. And even if that's not the case, it doesn't hurt and it puts you in a better mood. If you think you're smart, you'll make smart choices. You never know where a string of good choices will take you.
Part of me thinks that the teacher did this to encourage us to actually be smart or somehow get on our level. I'm glad he did because he showed us a different perspective. Take this information or any other information in life and be smart with it. There is power in knowledge and you are smarter than you think.
