Gotta Love Millennials…

On Sunday, my colleague, a Gen X’er, sent me this video.

I probably would have LOL’d, if it had been any other time, but given the state of my current emotions, I couldn’t help but feel offended. (Disclaimer: I’m a millennial.)

Criticism isn’t easy for their ears.

Although I understand my colleague never meant for it to be offensive, it was shared at a bad time for me. For the past few months, I have been experiencing what some may label a “quarter life crisis”. What am I doing? Am I truly living my purpose? Am I making the world a better place? Am I behind? Should I be home with my family? These are all questions I have been struggling with for the past year and, on Sunday, I finally gathered up the courage to commit to going home.

Then this happens.

27 years old trying to make it on their own;

Maybe start by leaving your parents’ home

My courage crumbled and self-doubt crept back in. Am I making the right decision? Is going back home to spend more time with my family an act of love or a lack of drive? Is my belief in myself really just “undeserved confidence”? The parody that was supposed to make me laugh instead reinforced my deepest fears and strengthened my societal shackles.

You see, we were raised at an interesting time in this country. On the one hand, we were educated by our schools, values, and in some cases, our parents, to go to college, graduate, and get a good job. We are taught that once we have that good job, we will secure our future and life can finally begin. But, on the other hand, we were also raised in the time of the great recession and the explosion of technology and social media. This means that while we were more connected and tech savvy than ever, we also learned that having a “good job” can disappear from underneath you in a heartbeat.

See the thing about “Millennials” is, although we may seem like naive lazy optimists, the truth is, we know that the world is fundamentally different from that of the generations before us. We know that we can have dreams and we know that there are platforms to help us achieve those dreams.

And yes, we also know that it is not an easy journey. That’s why we are staying at our parents’ home, accepting short term income losses, and buying into our dreams. We know that although the process may not be glamorous, it’s worth it and it’s possible. So yes, we may look like a fool now “sporting a man bun and facial hair” or hoping to “change the world while wearing yoga pants” — but we know that these are only temporary means to an end. That end is freedom from a system that tells us that we are only valued by what our employer pays us. That end is a freedom from the rat race and the monotony that accompanies it. That end is having an unshaken confidence in the belief that we can achieve those goals we set ourselves to accomplish.

So Gen X, laugh it up now. In prior generations, independence might have meant getting a job, moving out and starting a family. But, what’s really going on? Is that really independence? Or are we just transferring our dependence from parent to employer?