You've probably seen the rants, posts, and videos all about young people and the problems they have. Lazy. Entitled. Selfish. Generation Me. Millennials. Older generations are concerned that young people are too sheltered from the "real world."
Millennials get a bad rap for things like getting participation ribbons and not getting spanked by their parents, but the truth is, times have changed. The thing is, purple ribbons are not going to turn kids into entitled adults with no life skills. As much as you deny it, research shows that corporal punishment (like spanking) is not effective, and can actually harm kids in the long run.
In the United States, we hold parents to the golden standard of middle-class parenting. We teach kids to ask questions and think critically, but then accuse them of being disrespectful when they use these skills that we emphasize so much to question adults.
As they get older, more education for millennials has meant less time for young people to work. It often leads them to a phase called "emerging adulthood." This means that instead of throwing their 18 year olds out with a only a high school diploma and a "good luck" to soften their fall, parents are partially supporting their kids even after they graduate. This allows millennials to slowly acclimate themselves to the world of adults rather than the "sink or swim" approach that leaves many young adults drowning.
The struggles that millennials face are much different than the ones their parents and grandparents came across. A lot of people from older generations criticize millennials that advocate for free or reduced college prices. They payed their way through college and came out debt free (they also walked miles to school in the snow while barefoot and carrying their six younger siblings), so why are millennials so whiny about it? It turns out that college prices have risen so high that it is almost impossible for millennials to finish school debt-free, even if they are working just as hard as their parents and grandparents did.
Most college-bound millennials aren't looking for a handout, they're looking for a hand up to help them improve themselves and the world around them.
Despite their perceived faults, millennials continue to change the world for the better. They are brave advocates for women's education. They are pioneers in the medical field. They are olympic gold medalists. So, the next time you think to yourself that young people these days are horrible or entitled or "just not like when I was a kid," think of all the millennials you know personally. Your kids, your friends, your neighbors, your babysitters. Do these terms really fit these people in your life?
Maybe it's time we stop pitting generations against each other and realize that people are not the time period they were born in. The next generation will always be "trouble" and older generations will long for the "good old days," but the reality is that those good old days are all a myth. Everybody messes up when they're young (and also when they're older. I'm looking at you, grandma). So, for older generations, it's time to stop blaming problems on the "laziness" of millennials and start seeing issues like student debt for what they really are. Hug a millennial today, because sometimes they really do have it pretty rough. And millennials, this is your chance to prove everyone who won't listen wrong. Keep reaching to new heights: for equality, for peace, for progress, and don't listen to anyone who limits you by the date on your birth certificate. You are young, and you are limitless.
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
