As a millennial, I am constantly shit on. There’s really no other way to put it, unless you’d like me to use the “polite” term and say I’m “looked down upon”. But that just wouldn’t be the truth. We all have our stories to share, and most of them are the same. But how long until someone actually listens?
It seems nearly impossible to make a change in today's world, with all the injustice and hatred circling our mundane lives like wild fire. But we’re trying, we will continue to try; and, some of us have succeeded. With activists on all sides, from being conservative to being liberal we have our own out there everyday trying to make a difference in our society. For example we have the Future Female Leaders, or the FFL. What do they do? Well, they’re a group rising in strength that allows women of conservative beliefs to rise up and say what they mean and believe in. They don’t just sit and spew over everything while ultimately achieving nothing. They have conferences across the country, internships, scholarships, and opportunities for leadership positions within the organization through their Cabinet and Contributor programs. With books on shelves written by their own, appearances made on the news, and women joining left and right. You can’t say this group of millennials is “just existing”. You can’t say they haven’t contributed.
“ FFL aims to encourage women to be all who they can be in America, the true land of opportunity. The women that are fiercely patriotic, unapologetically sassy in their conservative beliefs, values, and principles. The women that refuse to be treated as victims or be used in someone else’s agenda. The women who know there is NOT a War on Women. The women that see the glass as half full – not half empty. The group of women who refuse to wait for someone else’s authorization or some government legislation to become who they want to be and to achieve their own version of the American Dream.” - The FFL
Next we have young democrats and liberals rising in strength everyday. From their support of Bernie Sanders, to their involvement of standing up for human equality. Our generation has been labeled one of the most liberal generations and it’s not hard to see why. From our involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement, to our rallys to dismiss the HB2 bill. We have a voice almost impossible to ignore, and it’s due to our size. We are the largest generation since the baby boomers, if not bigger. And with the amount of us getting ready to go off to college, education can only make us stronger. I personally have seen - and been stopped by- millennials out on the streets asking if people had time to learn about the involvement of groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign in today's issues, and if they too would like to get involved and make a difference. Again, you can’t say we are “just existing”, it’d be a blatant lie.
Now, on to our title of being “selfish”, and “lazy”. Here’s something you may have not realized, the bulk of millennials graduated from college in the teeth of one of the worst economic downturns since the great depression. Graduating during the recession not only leads to lower wages, but makes finding a job out of college automatically 10x harder and more competitive than it already was, leaving us more vulnerable to the downturn than other groups. In a speech from 2014, Jason Furman actually highlighted just how challenging the Great Recession was on millennials.
“While the unemployment rate for those over 34 peaked at about 8%, the unemployment rate among those between the ages of 18 and 34 peaked at 14% in 2010 and remains elevated, despite substantial improvement,” -Furman.
In fact, a Pew Research Center Survey shows, “Millennials are the first in the modern era to have higher levels of student loan debt, poverty and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income than their two immediate predecessor generations had at the same age.”
So, that being said we are not selfish and we don’t think the world owes us anything. We were simply unlucky to have been born and grow up at the time we have/still are. Where college tuition has risen at a rate of 1,120% over 30 years, medical expense at 601%, and food at 244%.
On to our manners, first off I’ve seen way more millennials act nice and polite towards their elders and the working class than I have any Baby Boomers and Generation X. Leaving decent tips, not getting upset and yelling when something doesn’t go absolutely fantastic at a restaurant. I personally have been made to cry on multiple occasions in the food industry by older generations, while I can’t recall a single millennial ever even yelling or catching an attitude. We don’t hold the door open? I have seen far more millennials holding the door open for older generations than I do older generations holding the door open for anyone else. Holding the door open for women on a date? To be honest, this tradition is a thing of preference and we shouldn’t be kicked for it dying out. Over all here’s the biggest argument against this, manners are a thing taught in the home of said child. So don’t blame us, why don’t you look into the foundations being taught in their home life. After all, moral behavior is usually mirrored.
And finally, who we idolize. Honestly, you can hate us for idolizing women like Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift all you want. But the truth of the matter is, these women have made empires out of their names; and, both in different ways. Kim may have become known because of a sex tape but she’s made an empire that has lasted 10 years from an app store game, to a clothing line, to a TV show. And plus if you’re going to down on a women for having sex, isn’t there something wrong there as it is? Taylor Swift has given many young girls everywhere the ability to feel as if they have a voice through her songs. She’s that “good girl” icon in a world of good vs. evil. There are so many celebrities out there we idolize for reasons of our own. There are reasons we want free, if not affordable education. And, there are reasons we will stop at no ends to fight for what we believe in. Reasons we shouldn’t have to explain to people who never really listened to us in the first place.
