Good News, Fellow Millennial: Life Doesn’t Suck That Bad and You Might Be Successful
I’m 25 years old and what I would consider to be an experienced millennial. I take pictures of my food, listen to podcasts, occasionally spend $40-$50 on brunch for myself, and wear my fair share of Henleys. I also use words like “oof” when something really inconvenient happens, like forgetting my wallet at home, and “mega oof” when something more inconvenient happens, like if I get hit by a bus on the way into work. But while “oof” and “mega oof” can cover the full gamut of everything that I need to successfully communicate on a daily basis, I don’t really agree with a lot of the characterizations and brands that millennials give themselves and other generations.
For example, I don’t really think that life is as bleak as millennials make it out to be. Look anywhere online, in the media, and by word of mouth, and there’s a tension that Generation X had it easier. Gen Xer’s could work during the summer, go to college, and pay off their debts, no problem. They could then buy a house, get married young, have 8 kids by age 30, and go on cool vacations. And not only that, but somehow, for reasons I don’t comprehend, their frivolous economic policy and crazy spending ended up driving up debt and inflation for our generation. It’s like they partied too hard and had too much fun and our generation’s suffering the fallout.
But the problem is that I’ve noticed a lot of my millennial brethren fold to basic adversity and everyday challenges. We millennials too often consider our misfortunes a result of immutable generational differences. We have a tendency to look back at the previous generation with disdain instead of looking at the future with excitement and determination. We talk about our debt, the bleak economy, and all of the things we can’t do. And instead of keeping our heads down, working hard, and focusing on ourselves, we build on our own reputations of being soft and whiney. It’s easier to say something’s tough and not try, than to try and fail.
What I think is that some things really SUCKED about living in Generation X. Actually, things have always really sucked for every generation, in slightly different ways. But the rules haven’t changed over time. If you work hard and demonstrate value for people, they will reward you. Yes, college was super cheap in 1970, but you also had to write letters in the mail to people, use rotary dial telephones, and if someone wasn’t available when you called, that was that! There was no internet, you had to drive to jobs you wanted to apply for, and yeah, you probably got a little polio as well if you were born in the early 1950’s (not a big deal).
We’ve never lived in a more technologically advanced, connected, and convenient era than we live in now. There have never been the amount of resources that there are available to you now to learn new skills, communicate with people, and put yourself in a position to move forward in life. It’s never been easier to move across the country. Technology has never made our lives easier, and as millennials, we are far more educated on it than our generational predecessors.
Millennials get a bad rep for being complainers. At the end of the day, no one likes a complainer. That’s a common trend for every generation. Just take life on the chin, pony up, and keep on with the keeping on. If not, you can only imagine what the next generation is going to say about you…
