In the 1950s, turning eighteen meant leaving the nest, getting a job and starting a family. Today, it is all about exploration.
The anxieties of college-aged individuals are divided between school, money and figuring out who we are and where we belong in the world. We crave independence, but still rely on our parents for financial and emotional stability. Our most dire decisions are made at a time in our lives when our mind’s are still expanding and we are still on the bridge between adolescence and adulthood. Consequently, we can’t win - we face accusations from our parent’s generation of laziness, narcissism, and chronic indecisiveness.
In some ways, it is understandable that the older generation expects so much more from today’s youth. After all, the cultural climate within the United States has changed drastically since the 1970s. Many of the things used to indicate the reaching of adulthood have altered significantly in the 1950s.
Here’s something to put it into perspective: According to the University of Pennsylvania Archives and Record Center, tuition in 1975 was $3,430. Today, admission to the same school costs $43,838. In the 1970s, a summer job would most likely pay most, if not all, of the cost of attending a private college. Today, it would be an impossible feat. it's not an excuse, it’s a fact - the prices of college, houses, cars, groceries, and medicine have all skyrocketed over the past fifty years. The older generation berates their children for needing financial support and for moving back in with their parents after to college, but the cost of living independently is more staggering than it has ever been before.
In spite of the setbacks, this new stage of development has offered us a gift our parents were never given: the opportunity to explore. Today, plenty of young people take gap years between high school and college, change their majors multiple times before settling on one, date people they have no intention of marrying, and maybe, have no intention of ever getting married at all. From this, college-aged people have the ability to spend their twenties unearthing themselves and figuring out who they want to be, by trial and error. For today’s young adult’s, there is room for mistakes - in fact, mistakes are encouraged because they inspire growth.
The hunger to explore has enabled the millennial generation to achieve incredible feats. Our generation is the most progressive it has ever been - we have seen the legalization of gay marriage, protests for racial and gender equality, and an overall demand for the dismantling of oppressive policies. Unsurprisingly, our biggest opponent to these changes are the Baby Boomer’s, many of whom would rather see the conservative values of the past stay in place for another hundred years. Despite their discontent, the accomplishments of the millennials have persevered. We face the largest opposition from former generations in regards to work and leisure, politics, and morals - and yet, we are more progressive in those areas than any of the generations that came before us.
Here’s my proposition to the parents of millennials-listen to your children. It may seem as though we are freeloaders or uninspired, but the demands of the times make life and growing up a challenging feat. We may not have to worry about a family now, but we worry about the future. Where will we end up? Will we be successful? Will we make our parents proud? Will we be happy with ourselves? These are the questions that plague the minds of the young adults of today. The twenty-somethings of today may seem miles from who their parents are, but it wasn’t long ago that you were just like us. A fresh new adult in the world, figuring out what you believe in, and finding your footing in life. The only difference is now, we have the chance to mess up a few times and learn from our decisions. Perhaps, it is the older generation that can learn something from us.
