Put your hands together for the generation notorious for being woke where it doesn’t count and too emotional for their own good. But what happens when the generation labeled as “snowflakes” experiences mass loss, broken hearts, and the sudden end of life? Are we not supposed to be upset about these things?
I tend to be the person who hates the end credits of any life event in fear that once it’s over, I’ll never experience anything like that person or place ever again. What if that’s as good as it gets? The tragic end is something I can’t help but mourn. Having a place in a generation that can’t seem to let things go, is exactly where I want to be.
Experiencing loss is inevitable, but being told to move on and let go is not the way my mind nor body heals. As a college student, balancing my emotions is vital. I do not have time for unanswered grief to seep into my coursework, my jobs, or my social life. The only thing I have time for is emotional honesty. It has become increasingly difficult to feel the effects of loss without somehow feeling guilty because I have not moved on. This pressure to let go feels instilled in me from childhood by the generations before me, which happens to fall into the abyss of my newly matured adult mind.
We Get It… Gen-Z is Emotional
In my experience, being emotional has often equated to weakness. I can get past this middle school name-calling on behalf of the older generations, but there is one thing I am not okay with – the ignorance associated with understanding Gen-Z. I would think that after experiencing a global pandemic and being dumped into the landfill of a financial crisis my emotional state would be far more understood by others. How does one possibly cope with loss during a time when physical touch and emotional connections were put on what seemed to be like a never-ending pause?
The fact is, I believe that no other generation is equal to Gen-Z. No other generation has experienced the unpredictable amount of loss and mental effects caused by a global pandemic. We are the only ones going through the fundamental stages of life and attempting to fight off the plague of emotional turmoil that has started since the beginning of 2020. I am more anxious and scared for my future than I have ever been in my life, and even living the college/adult lifestyle hasn’t made it much easier to understand. So being told to “tough it out” becomes increasingly frustrating, and confuses my resurfacing thoughts on loss in relation to weakness. I simply do not care that a boomer’s judgment is the product of my emotional state. Gen-Z is emotional, and we have every single right to be.
Loss is a Guarantee in Life
I have lost friends, family members, and lovers both physically and emotionally. To cope with not only loss, but living in a generation so belittled by others, I remind myself that healing is never linear. It’s steady at points, then horribly skewed for months at a time. Emotional expressions as a result of loss are beyond complicated, and despite being healed from the actual loss of something, it is one hundred percent normal to still feel emotional. I think oftentimes other generations group lingering emotions with the struggle to move on. But I see things very differently. To me, forgetting people and moments equates to suppressing them. There is an utter beauty and resilience in allowing myself to still feel and mourn for another human being. Forgetting them is much more frightful and simply not worth it for me.
Emotional Expression Does Not Equate to Weakness
Regardless of time, loss has the everlasting ability to linger, and no matter how long it chooses to linger, the emotional outcome of it does not determine your own strength as an individual in this generation. I apply this outlook to a variety of emotional states I may experience. There is a prowess in being vulnerable and resilience in being honest with your emotions.
Instead of being upset with the fact that past generations think we’re too melodramatic, I’ve decided to adopt a grateful mindset. I’d much rather be too upset with the way I’ve been forced to experience loss, among the multitude of other problems going on in the world, than play the role of the innocent bystander as I’ve heard about other generations doing in the past.
Despite Gen-Z being labeled as a bunch of lazy, overly sensitive people, there is one outstanding feature to this make and model of soon-to-be teens and young adults. We speak our minds and we speak them quite loudly. There is no room for guilt or shame in the emotional expression of loss, and in many other facets of life for our generation. Embracing your emotions, instead of taking the advice of past generations to snuff out your torch of sorrow, is simply courageous. It’s a strength I’ve added to my resume of life. It’s anything but a weakness.
I believe everyone should wear their heart on their sleeve. I promise it’s a good look.