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I used to
think a millennial was an unmotivated teenager, technology-addicted, glued to
their screens, and unwilling to put in an ounce of hard work. That was until I
became one.
During my three-year seminar
program in Ignatian leadership, we spent a specific afternoon discussing
workplace conflicts that could arrive due to generational differences. Having
experienced some of these conflicts personally, I was eager to see what the
session had in store. Our leader, Bill, passed around a booklet describing
various generation names and their characteristics. I flipped through to see
what Generation Y had to say about me, only there was no Generation Y. It just
didn't exist. I flipped back to check the birth years. Maybe I was bunched into
Generation X? No. Worse. 1988 was now part of the Millennial Generation.
Through my education program,
"millennial" was a dirty word used to describe un-teachable students
who would rather play with an iPad than interact with humans. Questions were
constantly being asked about what to do with this wayward generation. I am one
of the most driven people I know. How could I get lumped in with this group? I
wasn't a millennial; I was teaching them... right?
My friend Trish was the only other member of the seminars
around my age. We were outraged. How could a pamphlet take away our identity in
one swoop? Immediately, she whipped out her tablet and I my phone. This had to
be a mistake. I opened the web browser and typed out what I was searching for.
While the site loaded, I answered a text from my mom about how my trip was
going. I double tapped the home button, and I was back to my web results. While
most sites agreed that Generation Y was now part of the Millennial Generation,
there were some that disagreed. Hadn’t I seen something on Facebook about
millennials recently? Another double tap and I was off to the social media app
scanning the newsfeed. Red dots told me I had some friend requests and
notifications, so I quickly checked those out before continuing my quest for knowledge.
Trish and I came up with the same Internet facts. Some had joined Generation Y
with Millennials while others kept them as distinct groups. Another double tap
switched me to Twitter where I used one of my three accounts to send out my
confusion and annoyance into the universe.
A woman completely content with her Generation X designation
turned to us and commented, “You kids, always on your devices.” Trish and I
looked up in horror. We dropped our technology with disgust. Had we really
become the thing we hated? Everything I had done in the last five minutes came
flooding back: my social media distractions, my innate skill at multitasking,
my desire for immediate information when I wanted it. Oh, no. The booklet might
be right.
Eager for more, I continued to read Bill’s booklet. What I
found was the opposite of the negativity society had hammered into me.
Millennials are driven by new challenges. They think outside the box. They’re
flexible and can adapt easily. They are quick to learn new things. They are
constantly looking to move forward. Slowly, I was starting to realize that
being a millennial wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Then, I realized all
of the millennial stereotypes I had used to look down on my students who were
younger than me. I knew what it was like to have other people think you were
less capable because of your age. I didn’t want that for my students. And I don’t
want that for my fellow millennials trying to make their place in the world.
It’s time to reclaim the word “millennial” for good. I
believe in millennials.
For other examples of Contemporary Literature "This I Believe" blog posts, check out:
Choosing Awesome (Mr. Davidson)
The Power of Being There (Mr. Davidson)
I Believe in Rock and Roll (Evan)
You're Not Too Cool for Anything (Xavier)
And feel free to check out the official This I Believe website for more.
(Watch the video on Moodle about how to add a sound recording to your blog post.)
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