Why ‘Millennial’ Made Me Cry
I know I am late to the game on this, sue me
If you are about to graduate college like I am, or have recently graduated college, there is something you must do, if you have not already.
You need to visit this link or this one or even this one. Look for “#1 Welcome to Millennial” and then press play. All of these links will bring you to one of the best podcasts I have stumbled upon. The show is called “Millennial” and it’s produced by Megan Tan, a recent graduate from Western Kentucky University, class of 2014.
“You’re listening to Millennial, a podcast series that documents something that no one teaches you: How to maneuver your 20s.” — Megan Tan
Millennial isn’t that new of a podcast. Its first episode was released 11 months ago, but it started to become quite popular during the summer, after four or five episodes had been released. Millennial is so special to me because, as Megan eloquently puts it, it’s about maneuvering through your 20s. And I just turned 22 this month, so when I discovered this podcast on The Atlantic’s “50 Best Podcast Episodes of 2015,” I said to myself: This podcast was made for me. It was made for us, millennials!
Megan studied photojournalism in college. But upon graduation, Megan turned down a job for the LA Times because she realized that she actually wanted to become a radio producer.
But Megan had never produced a podcast before. So she decided to start recording all of her conversation and interactions with people and create this amazingly honest podcast about the struggles one has post-graduation. It took her months to upload her first episode. She came up with all sorts of excuses to delay the process: she was tired, she was too busy juggling two part-time jobs, she didn’t know what she was doing, she didn’t know what story to tell, etc. But with words of encouragement from her friends and family, she buried herself in her closet, alone with her microphone, and finally emerged when “#1 Welcome to Millennial” was born.
My favorite part of Millennial is when Megan records herself early in the morning or late at night, when she’s still in bed. It’s in these moments when she’s most vulnerable. Sometimes she can’t fall asleep, so there she is, recording herself whispering to her boyfriend, on the verge of tears. Other times, you can tell she has just woken up, and her voice is raspy as she describes her anxieties about the day’s upcoming events.
I listen to podcasts like Millennial when I exercise. Podcasts are actually a really great motivator for me to go to the gym or take a walk around the neighborhood. I’m home for winter break right now, and every day I walk about 3 miles just so I can listen to some of my favorite podcasts. It’s my favorite part of the day.
This evening, toward the end of my walk, I listened to Millennial’s episode #7: “What’s Your Worth?” [*Spoiler Alert*] In this episode, Megan grapples with figuring out her monetary worth.
“The big question is always, ‘How do you convince people to pay you to do what you love?’ But what happens when the dream starts to come true and you’re not ready for it?”
At this point in time, her podcast is becoming more and more popular, and she has started to receive e-mails from businesses who are interested in sponsoring her show. As I walked past busy intersections and around dog walkers, I laughed out loud as Megan shared actual phone conversations with prospective sponsors, where she said the most embarrassing things. (Go listen to them!!) She clearly had no idea how to think with a business mindset… and I felt for her. After all, I would probably make a fool out of myself, too.
At the end of the episode, Megan happens to capture a wonderful moment where her and her friends discover that Millennial has scored some major, unsolicited publicity, and there’s a lot of cheering, crying and profanity. So exciting.
But this episode hadn’t featured any advertisements, nor did its predecessors, making me wonder if she was able to actually secure a sponsor or not. Megan voiced her worries that perhaps there was a problem on her end. Did she think she was worth more than she actually was?
As I turned into the corner of my neighborhood, dramatic music flowed through my earbuds and I felt bad for Megan. She deserved a sponsor!! It didn’t make any sense. But then… I heard Megan say this:
“This episode was brought to you by… Squarespace. YAAAY!”
And that’s when I started to tear up. I put on my sunglasses even though the sun had already set and I began to laugh outloud because even though I was alone, I was a little embarrassed. I couldn’t help it. You see, this was BIG. Megan didn’t just land any sponsorship… she landed THE sponsorship. As someone from The Atlantic once wrote, Squarespace is “podcast famous.” This company sponsors the big boys.
And just when I thought that was all, Megan slips in, “…And also, by Audible.”
#Dead.
Megan had made it. And I was so, so, so happy for her. I walked the last hundred feet back to my house in a daze, texting my roommate (who was also an avid Millennial listener) about my sudden onslaught of emotion.
Megan is brave. She records everything and she shares everything. She will make you realize that all of the doubt, fear, sadness, worry, joy and exhilaration you feel is not a unique occurrence. She makes me both nervous and excited for my imminent journey into the real world. She makes me jealous because I wish I came up with this podcast idea.
I’m not even done with Season 1 of Millennial. I kind of don’t want it to end. But I had to write something RIGHT NOW because this podcast really speaks to me. It evokes so much emotion out of me. It really makes me root for Megan. I just want her to be successful and happy.
And maybe that’s because I just want to be successful and happy. And if Megan the Millennial can achieve that, I can too.
P.S.
#DoubleDead
