When I told my coworkers—millennials themselves—I accepted a writing position at Odyssey, a place for millennials to offer their voice, they scoffed at its platform. Millennials, they argued, already had a voice in every thing so why on earth would they need an entire platform dedicated to young, emerging voices?
Why? That is a very good question that deserves a thorough answer. Millennials are supposed to be the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, business sharks; yet, our voice has become a mass of noise—even to ourselves. The older generation, whose role in society is to groom us to become those leaders, entrepreneurs, and business sharks, is so discouraged with the current youth that they have convinced the youth themselves that our voice is not valid.
We cannot see the value of our words or our worth. We have become a whisper in the void of society, with no one to guide or direct us toward greatness. In order to become the leaders America needs, we as millennials need to believe that our voice matters. Our voices, each individual's voice needs to matter. That's why it's important for millennials to have a platform dedicated to them. It grooms us to take on problems with a fresh mindset. It allows us to see what our peers think, believe and question because the older generation refuses to be of use, writing us off as lazy, incompetent Americans. It's important because it gives us a sense of significance that will light the candle of change within our generation.