M I L L E N N I A L S

“Millennials want nice things but don’t want to work for them/”

“Want work done? Don’t Hire a Millennial.”

“Crybaby Millennials need to stop whining and work hard like the rest of us.”

                These are just a few of the titles of articles that come up when you Google ‘millennials’. I think it is really quite interesting how terribly millennials are talked about on the internet. Generation Y is constantly being shit on by business owners and bosses everywhere. GUESS WHAT? They aren’t completely alone in their thinking though. Hello! It’s me! A millennial! And I AGREE with these headlines! I think that WE as a generation have been bred to all feel equal, and upon graduation with a degree everyone feels they are entitled to a paycheck. Well YES, in an ideal situation, everyone would get a paycheck, but you know who gets a paycheck? PEOPLE WHO WORK! So don’t give me that shitty excuse about how you have no money, if you’ve got no job, and are making no attempts to look for one.

                All of these articles also made the brilliant point that millennials feel pressure to earn money, and I don’t know about any of my fellow peers, but I certainly feel that. I know that an entry level position and starting salary are imposed to promote growth for an individual, but with hefty student debt and responsibilities hanging over our heads, an entry level salary isn’t very appealing. UNFORTUNATELY some of us (ahem, not me) do not understand that we do not know everything about anything, really, yet and taking you on as anything but an entry level employee could be a potential liability for the company that has chosen to employ your sorry, ungrateful millennial ass in the first place.

                Luckily most all of my friends and myself work hard for what they have, so it isn’t awkward to write this post, but I cannot deny that I have had more given to me than previous generations, and I know I am not alone. BUT I think unlike most of the generation Y, I am able to identify that, and recognize that I am privileged to have more opportunities without (sometimes) working as hard as I should. I have heard the argument that because we have this view of ‘extreme equality’ it has ruined our sense of ownership of real work- and made it easier to allow us to be proud of mediocre work. I have seen this in play too, as often now a recreational league sport like youth soccer, the end of the season is basically a time to reward every kid for just showing up. No matter which skills you learned during the season, you get a trophy. Kick the ball into the wrong goal? Doesn’t matter… you showed up that’s all that matters. Sat on the bench all season? Who cares! At least you watched, have a trophy. NO. THAT IS NOT TEACHING ANYONE ANYTHING. You know what that teaches kids? That the world owes them something for every meager task they do, and I COMPLETELY disagree- the world owes us nothing.

                I think that millennials believe that same thing- the world owes us something. NO. Get a job, do something with your life. If it’s worth something to someone, then you’ll get rewarded for it! If you want to do it and no one else sees the value in it, then do it for yourself, but don’t make it seem like someone owes you something for doing something that has no real value to anyone else but you. HERE’S A TIP- sometimes if you work hard enough and really feel passionate about something it makes people change the way they think about it, and THEN maybe someone else will see value in it because you believe in it so strongly. I know that this sounds silly and like common sense, and maybe even like it’s a conflicting view of the topic, but I AM A MILLENNIAL, and I know that we are full of passion, we care a lot more about enriching experiences like travel, and volunteer work and doing things to make ourselves and others around us feel good. We aren’t self-absorbed, we are rarely materialistic, and we’d like to be helpful, and make a difference. It just takes time, whereas most of us would like to fly onto the scene and make an impact straight away. Here’s the thing- somethings are better with time, and I think as millennials we have trouble understanding that instant gratification isn’t an option, and most of the time, that’s a good thing.

                FOR THE RECORD- the world owes me nothing, I plan to continue working as hard as I possibly can to achieve the things I want to achieve because quite frankly, I know nobody else gives a shit about my goals, besides me. I encourage my fellow millennials to realize the same thing, you do you, be real, and work hard, and you WILL achieve the things you’re setting out for, but YOU DON’T DESERVE ANYTHING YOU DIDN’T WORK FOR, because that could be stealing, and that’s a crime, you know (humor, HA!). Also rant-y side note- don’t brag to me about your mediocracy, if you’re doing big things and achieving your goals, it will be apparent without you having to say anything at all.

Well that’s all for now! Let me know if you liked this one, because I was thinking about writing a bit more on Millennials, I think it is very relevant!

                                                                                                                                Cheers!! xoxo