Currently, and also not so currently, people are tweeting with the hashtag #whatmakesmeanxious and I feel this represents our generation, as well as 2016 as a whole. There has been nothing but harsh realities and sad endings this year, showing that not every year can be "our year." Yet, I have noticed another trend in our generation, which is people saying how much they want to die or how much they don't want to have their lives; they would rather be a dog or just some random object. This might seem like a big joke; "Oh these millennials don't know what life is like, they are just joking around because they are slightly stressed." Unfortunately, we are not joking or kidding around. We are struggling to be us and be adults, struggling to get ourselves together and begin a new day. More and more of my peers are developing mental health issues, from anxiety or depression to personality disorders and other such ailments who anyone above 40 doesn't believe exists. There is no addressing these issues, just people being handed drugs to calm down and move on, no solutions to the piles of stress being piled on.
Not only do my peers have school to worry about, but they need a job to pay for it and have money to survive. They need money so they can eat, be warm and clothed, and have a car to drop anything at a moment's notice in order to stay afloat. There was no preparation for this workload, and some people don't go to school but move forward with their lives by getting a full-time job, moving into their own apartments and houses, and getting cars by themselves. Why do we feel the need to make a hashtag about our anxiety? It is due to the fact that there is no stopping the force of life, which keeps punching us with new responsibilities and also new obstacles.
There is all this stress to deal with, but this is an election year, and for a lot of us it is the first one we get to vote in. Honestly, these are the worst people we could have possibly voted to be candidates. Don't get me wrong, there are strong followings on both sides, but these two people are kind of a disappointment. Out of all the politicians, people who are a part of the government, a part of our system that is way more qualified to be the Commander in Chief, these two supposed adults are fighting each other and providing no headway as to who would be a reliable President. This is giving people anxiety; I got a headache just from watching a debate. It makes me sad knowing that there will never be another option to have a chance to make it to the Presidency this term. Either way, people will hate who you support and there will always be an argument.
Life, especially 2016, are giving the millennials a run for their money. We tend to joke about our anxieties, tend to joke about us wanting to not be here, but all in all, this is a serious matter. All the social media and memes can't cover up the fact that there is a lot of stress triggers in our lives, and that even if this year makes us anxious, we hope to someone that next year will turn around.
