The other day I was in a store checking out. There were 2 older people in front of me and I stood there and watched the cashier check them out. The cashier was an elderly, polite, respectful, and smiled a lot to the people in front of me. When it was my turn to check out, the once sweet, polite, elderly lady's smile turned into a scowl and her expression turned cold. I smiled, said "hi", and asked her how she was doing - to which she answered with one word. This was the complete opposite treatment she had given the people before me. After she bagged my things, she literally shoved the bag across the counter to me with the receipt.
This surprised me, but I grabbed the bag and I told her to have a good day. As I was walking out the cashier returned to the sweet, polite lady who smiled at customers and asked them how they were doing - to my surprise they were older as well.
I thought about this for a while and I realized it wasn't because of race, it wasn't because of my lack of politeness - it was because of my age. It was because I am a part of a disliked generation.
I am a part of a generation who is self-centered, obsessed with technology, thinks they are entitled, lazy, and sometimes just flat out rude.
Yeah, I bet a bunch of you just stopped reading this article.
Get it together millennials.
I googled "millennials" and this is one of the first images that came up:
Um.. hello, that's pretty sad. I would have hoped something greater would have come up when googling what I am. I don't want to go down in history as a disliked generation... do you?
Get it together millennials.
So many people in our generation complain about how older people don't respect us, don't believe in our capabilities, and treat us like kids.
You guys, we've done this to ourselves.
Think about it, when's the last time you or your friends held the door for someone and let them walk through first? When's the last time you looked up from your phone long enough to talk and invest in someone's life? When's the last time you were aware of how disruptive and loud your group was being in a store?
I saw this sign the other day, it read "NO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ALLOWED WITH PARENTAL SUPERVISION." I heard the owner of the shop say it was because after school, high school students would walk in the store to kill time and mess everything up. This should not even be a thing.
Get it together millennials.
No offense guys, but we have kind of done this to ourselves. I'm not saying everyone is like this, but honestly - a lot of us are.
I'm not here to lecture or apprehend, but I believe we can be a part of something bigger. Tired of people looking down on us because of our youth? Then be the change. We were meant to live for so much more guys.
This was meant to be encouraging, not lecturing. I believe in us. We can get it together.
Remember to always be inspiring.
