#millennials

According to a quick Google search the label Millennials includes anyone born between 1980 and 1995. There are about 80 Million of us and we are the largest generation in the US. Yes, we’re larger than the Baby Boomers, who maxed out at 76 million. Currently we are between the ages of 19 and 34. And most notably we are the most talk about, scrutinized, studied, and worry inducing generation alive.

I mean, honestly, type “millennial” into your favorite search engine and just start reading. We are the laziest generation. We are the neediest generation. We are entitled, narcissistic, un-hirable, unreliable, unwilling to grow up. We are leaving the church. But moving back in to our parents’ basements. We are unpredictable… and therefore, uncontrollable and apparently quite frustrating yet fascinating creatures.

… It’s a wonder any of us get out of bed in the morning let alone feed or clothe ourselves. How are we even functioning humans?!

What’s actually fascinating to me is what seems like everyone over the age of 34 is OBSESSED with complaining about us, then telling each other how to “deal” with us and “fix” us because we are SUCH a burden, and no one is actually asking US about why we are the way we are.

So. Let me help you all out. Because really this whole craze stems from a simple case of misunderstanding each other. Also, let’s take a quick second to recognize that basically all things stated in this post are generalizations… which are great for research, blog posts, political speeches, angry rants and passive aggressive notes. Not great for personal connections, friendships, winning arguments or just making decent human conversation. So, if you’re offended by what I write, take a second to self evaluate whether I’m actually talking about you, chances are I’m not. And if you’re still not sure, ask me. I’m honest. I’ll tell you.

What cracks me up about older generations claiming to know what we are about is often they haven’t taken the time to understand how we got here. The assumptions they make are based off their own lives (because that’s how assumptions work) but I can promise you Gen X childhoods are not comparable to Millennial childhoods. In the same way that Millennial childhoods are not comparable to the childhoods of the generations younger than us. Earth evolves, life looks different. Here are some of the things I define as significant during our early years.

• We didn’t grow up on technology we grew up with it. A very distinct difference. I remember my parents’ first computer, in fact I don’t actually have memory of not having a computer. It had a black screen with green type and the paper in the printer had perforated sides. There were no computer games… in fact Dad was the only one who got to touch the computer. My parents’ first cell phone came in a bag… and it plugged into the car. It was only for emergencies. We grew up with video games. We played Atari (probably at Grandma’s house) and then we quickly evolved through N64, Playstation, Wii, and X-Box. Our first cell phones were Nokia bricks… The most indestructible phone on the planet. And we adapted through flip phones, Sidekicks, Razors, Blackberries, smart phones, iPhones, Samsung Galaxies and Windows phones. The biggest thing that gets forgotten in our technology ruled lives is that we are incredible problem solvers and trouble shooters. It was not an adult that figured out that the best fix when your N64 wasn’t working was to take the cartridge out and blow on it… that was totally a kid fix. When our cell phones didn’t work… We couldn’t ask Mom and Dad. They didn’t even know how to save a contact yet. So we figured it out.

• Millennials remember 9/11. But differently than our parents. I was in 7th grade sitting in Mr. Hookham’s Science class watching two planes hit the twin towers on TV… 6 years later my friends were enlisting and fighting in a war that started in Middle School. And 8 years after that it’s still not over.

• We went to college because it was required. High School degrees don’t mean much any more and so we all packed up our lives and went of to school. We were optimistic because we were told “Go to college! Get a degree! Don’t worry about the debt of paying for that education there will be loads of jobs for you to pick from when you graduate.” …Then the economy tanked. And our parent’s generation is staying in those promised jobs longer so we are left with crippling student loan debt and, often, no job offers.

• As kids, we learned how to navigate divorce at the hands of our parents or our friends’ parents. We saw divorce become the norm and became a little jaded toward that “fairytale ending” we were told about. And in that we learned that family is what you decide it is. All families look different and it’s up to you to decide who is in yours. This has probably contributed to the fact that we are getting married later than our parents did.

• As the world became a smaller place through all that technology we talked about earlier we got to stay friends with basically everyone we ever met… “Friends” no longer just consisted of the people you went to school with. You could make friends and stay friends with people from other states and countries through email, MSN chat, texting, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Skype and FaceTime. Geographical limitations, for the most part, no longer exist.

• And lastly, we were raised by a generation of parents that told us to dream big. To become whatever we want to be. That we can grow up to be/do whatever we want and we took that quite literally. We rejected the status quo of what adulthood and jobs are “supposed” to look like and are going after what we want.

Are some of us lazy, entitled, narcissistic, needy, unreliable, proud jerks? Yes, of course. But there are a handful of 40-somethings I know that have the exact same traits. These labels aren’t generational traits, they are human traits.

If I were to define my generation I would use words/phrases like; innovators, resilient, problem solvers, scrappy, unwilling to settle, trailblazers, explorers, entrepreneurs, a little impatient, dreamers, doers… I could keep going. Am I biased? Absolutely. But what I see are young adults who see problems and make their careers out of finding solutions. College graduates figuring out how to get their dreams, sometimes by going a different route than “normal”. 25 year olds living in their parents’ house not because they are lazy, because they are using the “rent” money to pay their loans back. We aren’t saints by any means but we are definitely not the worthless scum we’ve been made out to be.

At the end of the day people are going to judge you no matter how old you are or how successful you are. We all do it. And we all know we shouldn’t. One person turns into “those people” and it quickly becomes a sweeping generalization that may or may not be true. In the case of Millennials, our stereotypes didn’t come out of thin air. But we are just as human as you are. Also, we out number you and we are driven so we’ll probably be your boss soon 🙂

xoxo

Millennials.