Attention Boomers, I'm 23 And Don't Belong In The Same Generation As 13-Year-Olds
Just because we're younger than you, doesn't mean we're all the same.
There is nothing I dislike more than being compared to a middle schooler.
I think most young adults can agree with that statement as well.
Older generations seem to believe that everyone from the age of nine, up to their own age, is all within the same generation.
This means people who have degrees, marriages, families, and careers, are all getting grouped with the kids who eat Tide pods, are into random flossing—the dance, just so we're clear—and have Fortnite addictions.
I'm sorry, but I refuse to have my adult life compared to that of a child who was born in 2006.
OK, maybe I'm not a "full on" adult, but I'm 23, I'm in college, living on my own, and was born before the turn of the millennia.
I am a millennial, which can also be referred to Gen Y.
Kids born post-2000 are Gen Z.
Gen Y grew up in a weird transition period of culture and technology.
I can remember growing up around toys like Lite-Brite and Furby, but I can remember owning a flip phone in fifth grade and watching all my friend's get the first generation of iPod touches.
The toys and technology I grew up experiencing were what was available at the time. Flip phones and Blackberry were all people really had when I was ten.
Now, kids who are ten are growing up around iPhones and fancy tablets.
They're also just that: Kids.
They're still learning and trying to figure things out, but when someone from Gen Z does something kind of dumb or a new trend starts spreading across that age group, older generations are so quick to hiss "Millennials!" and scold actual millennials for Gen Z behavior.
Look, some Gen Y people might take part in Gen Z trends, but that doesn't make us Gen Z.
Gen Z, though, has been able to create its own identity and brand. We've created the image for ourselves, but people don't want to respect who we are, the experiences we've had, and who we've grown up to be because they still see us as children—which the lumps us with actual children.
Gen Y has been working to change the world for ourselves and prepare for our futures, and it's all getting ignored because a bunch of middle schoolers want to try eating laundry detergent.
I can promise you, Millennials are not the same as the generation below us.
We deserve to be respected for who we are: Not kids.
