Dear Fellow Millennials and Generation Z’s,
I know you all are so used to the typical article about how we are destroying the economy and trying to destroy everything that Baby Boomers and older adults have put into place. *maniacal laughter* ALL the time we hear about how we are “those self-absorbed millennials with their dang phones!”. Because you know our whole purpose in life is to destroy everything we touch. We have the Midas touch but instead of things turning to gold we just destroy things in the eyes of older generations. Sound familiar?
But is it true? Are we that despicable of a generation? Are we worse than the generation that ushered in the Housing Market Crash? Or the generation that ushered in Water Gate? Or Vietnam? Or any other generation in history? Is it really because of those gosh dang cell phones?
Well since older generations haven’t come out and said sorry I will say it for them! I am sorry that you are tormented every day by the thought that you are not good enough. That every single article in the news written about millennials is because we are destroying something new. I’m sorry that every problem that has ever happened since the millennial generation came along is because of our dang cell phones! That everything you do has an adverse reaction and is destroying our society slowly but surely. I am sorry that they don’t see the greatness within you. I’m sorry, they cast you aside as if you don’t have potential to do anything at all but destroy.
But I am here to tell you something, something so scandalous the Baby Boomers might become faint. I have seen your struggles. I have seen your hardships. I have seen the blood, sweat, and tears, you put into everything that you do for a chance to become something worthwhile. I see you. I am there right with you. As a fellow millennial, I know the turmoil that you are going through. I see the countless full-time college students working one or more jobs, on top of that volunteering their “free” time to their communities or organizations on campus. But STILL, you are being told that they are not good enough. That spreading yourself thin to the point you can rip easier than tissue paper. That any downtime or break you have is wasted time.
Me, myself, and I: the three amigos. Older generations seem to think we are these narcissistic human beings. It’s only me, me, me! And that we have to take a selfie every .2 seconds. They find it weird and strange, therefore it is something that is to be disliked on all accords without relenting, ever. To me, there is a misunderstanding between all the generations. The older generations misunderstand us and therefore it materializes itself into dislike. Millennials aren’t these weird freaks that love and adore themselves.
But in reality, the millennial generation is so much more than just selfies and self-love. We care about more than just ourselves! Our generation is passionate and filled with ideas. We chase our dreams and fill our lives with countless activities. We also *gasp* CARE about our communities and those around us. Shocking, I know. We care about other things besides ourselves. We get involved in our community and try to give back to make the places around us better for everyone. We want to see the world change for the better and not the worse. Yet, that makes us these narcissistic nasty beings.
Our generation is one of the most innovative, creative, hard-working, and tolerant generations to ever be! Our generation has created icons like Mark Zuckerberg and Malala! We have seen new movements of women empowerment such as the Me Too movement and a push for the acceptance of people no matter who they are or where they come from. But how come our generation isn’t known for these icons or these movements? How come all the older generations can focus on is us taking selfies and our gosh darn cellphones? The truth of the matter is there will be more millennials and their greatness surfacing in the future. There will be more movements to come because our generation is so active in their community and the world around them. We are shaping the world to become a different place from what other generations have seen. Which is NOT a bad thing! We want change! And people should not be afraid of change or our generation. People like Malala and Mark Zuckerberg they are only the beginning of our generation, they are not the end. Our generation has a chance to usher new generations in with warm loving arms and not manifest our misunderstanding into relentless bullying. So I will leave you all with this final picture.