The other day, I was with my sister at an Asian grocery store. We were pushing our cart around, doing circles in the store in our attempt to find obscure items from the grocery list my mom had texted us. We weren’t doing a very good job. At one point, I had to look up a picture of coriander leaves because I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out how each bundle of green leaves was different from the others.
Eventually, we were rescued by a good-natured elderly customer, who pointed out the right bundle for us and shook his head with a helpless smile. “Young people,” he said.
Damn. That was loaded. In all of two words, he’d managed to capture the essence of our generation. Somehow, his tone was both resigned and expectant (maybe even slightly disappointed), but also humorous and affectionate.
It got me thinking…just what about Gen Z is so enticingly chaotic?
For me, it stems from the possibilities of youth. Gen Z, as a generation, has so much potential. Growing up in this day and age, there’s a lot more bad news than there is good news, but I think criticizing the world makes us want to keep chugging towards a better future that we envision. Yeah, we’re still growing and learning. We may not know how to do taxes or what the hell the IRS is, but do we know the cultural significance of “WAP” and why the uno reverse card is so profound? Absolutely.
We’re funny! In fact, we make each other photosynthesize with laughter. We’re so diverse and connected through technology that we don’t even recognize diversity. There’s a sort of invisible unity bonding us together. We’re adaptable and open to change. We’re independent, which means we can recognize our self-worth and be ourselves, and we’re ambitious. We work hard for the things we care about and make a space for our voices to be heard.
I think Gen Z has much to offer to the world in ideas that are both creative and impactful. We’re brimming with so much possibility, and I can’t wait to see how the world will end up much better for it.