Recently, someone presented me with a topic and requested that I place my opinion in an article. “Talk about why our generation is eager to succeed,” they said. I sat and thought for an entire day, trying to figure out what I could say. I'm well aware that I talk about my generation a lot. I’m probably one of the most critical individuals when it comes to the subject; therefore, those who are avid readers of my work know exactly where this is going.
The truth is, I don’t believe that our generation in its entirety is one that is eager to succeed. Yes, there are thousands, millions of individuals in college, in the military, and in the work force doing exactly what they set out to do in grade school; but, there are just as many who are sitting around waiting for handouts. Think about it: during your senior year in high school, or during the last graduation you attended, how many people had a plan? Everyone was going to college; everyone was going to the military; but, how many actually did or made provisions to do so? How many people are actually working tirelessly despite every obstacle that they’ve faced to reach the goals that they’ve set? Over the years, it has become obvious that being successful is more of a proclamation than a priority.
One of the biggest problems with my generation is that we talk too much. We broadcast our every move, our every thought, and our every desire. Because of social media, we’re constantly in competition with each other: who gets the most likes, who has the most views, who posts the most during the day. Consequently, we’ve become so entangled in words with the intent to please others, that we hardly ever get to the worksto back up what we say. Yes, becoming an aerospace engineer sounds great and I’m sure that it would accumulate several likes and congratulatory comments on Facebook, but, it means nothing if you never even took the initiative to apply to a college or university to pursue an undergraduate degree.
I believe that my generation has the potential to be the absolute best and to make a positive and lasting impact on the world, but it won’t happen unless we all move away from speaking to impress or gain the approval of others and move toward being ourselves and doing what makes us happy.
