It seems that almost any millennial will tell you that they should’ve been born in a different decade. They will tell you that the Gatsby-like parties of the ‘20s connects with them the most, or that they loved the energy and activism of the sixties or seventies. And almost all of them will say “I know that sounds cliche, but it’s really true for me.” Let’s be honest, these people are annoying. No one really cares about how they “feel the energy of another decade within them” or that a BuzzFeed quiz magically guessed which year they really should’ve been born, which happened to line up with their personal opinions so it must be true. Yeah, these folks are annoying, and I used to be one of them.
Growing up, I was raised by liberal parents who listened to rock and roll. They were very candid in their conversations with me about current events, and they instilled in me a sense of justice. While the other kids were listening to Hannah Montana, Britney Spears, and NSYNC, I was listening to Elton John, the Eagles, and The Doors. I had a hard time finding relevance in the other girls my age who were obsessed with glitter, disney and all things shiny and pink. The older I got, the more out of place I felt. I didn’t feel connected to my peers, because they didn’t like the stuff I liked and they thought I was kind of weird. It would’ve been easier for me to stick with the materialistic pop culture I was born into, but that never felt right. I stuck with who I was, and I simply thought, this was not the generation I was born into. What I longed for were people who were passionate about human rights issues, people who cared enough to bring justice into the world, people who listened to music that moved you and with a profound message, people who watched movies that reflected reality perfectly, people who were authentic in their every word and action.
It wasn’t until last year that I found those people. As it turns out, I was just waiting for my generation to grow up a little. Now that we’re more socially conscious, now that we can see that there’s problems, we are speaking up louder than ever. I am proud to be a part of this generation, even though we have our flaws, such as social media addiction and difficulty developing face-to-face interpersonal relationships. This is the generation I was meant to be born into because this generation needs me and people like me, people who are passionate about their fellow mankind and changing the world for the better.