A millennial is a term used to define the generation of people whose childhood involved the change from 1999 to 2000. The crazy fact about millennials is how hated our generation is by past generations who see us as spoiled, entitled, and lazy. For some reason non-millennials associate most of us with people along the lines of Paris Hilton and other pop stars. It is my strong opinion that other generations have a distorted view of what it is like to be young today. They think most of us have a credit card in our dad's name, and that everything and anything we have ever wanted was handed to us. Is it true that life has been easier for some of us as American youth than others in the past, yes. Does that make us lazy and bad people? NO. Most of my fellow millennials are dedicated, adaptable, and get a lot of tasks accomplished. We have classes, internships, part time jobs, and a lot of social pressure and anxiety. However where we differ from other generations is that most of us are not in a rush to be married with children by 25 so a lot of our youth is sacrificed to school and low paying jobs and internships to pad our resumes, so that by the time we are in our mid 30's we can hope to be successful. I cannot figure out why people hate us so much and say that we don't have any reason to be upset all the time because we have easy lives. It's truly mind bottling and incorrect. Personally, for a couple of months I had to pause my job/further education search due to a health issue, that when in the diagnosing process I wasn't telling anyone about. So when people asked about my job search I would bend the truth and say I hadn’t heard back from anyone. I had multiple people who were older than me instantly tell me that the reason I wasn't successful in my job search was because I am a millennial and have no idea what it's like to sacrifice and struggle. The ironic part besides the fact that I was and am facing an ongoing health struggle is that I have struggled in different aspects of my life since early childhood. Did I ever have to hardcore struggle with money to the point where I could not eat? No, I can’t say that I ever have, and I am aware of that some people do, and I know I have been fortunate. Despite that fact, when a lot of grown adults look at me and instantly judge me due to their own jealously, making the assumption that I am a brat and a privileged youth, they have no idea what I have struggled and do struggle with. Being dyslexic took me years to accept and academically was a constant struggle, but despite the fact that society sees me as a lazy millennial, I still managed to work really hard and never had to go to summer school, never was held back a grade, and graduated college on time and also planning on going back for a doctorate, and many of my friends all had similar struggles and still did the same, so maybe we aren’t all so lazy. Being gay has and is still a daily struggle that, unless you are also gay and you grow up in a very catholic environment that taught you to hate yourself with every fiber of your being, you have no right to judge and say I have had and do have it easy. Medically, again is another everyday struggle. I am not trying to be depressing; I am just trying to make a point by using my life as an example. As a millennial, I handle many daily struggles that would make some people crumble, but I handle them. My friends and peers all have similarly difficult lives, however we all make strides to handle them and to work towards a better future. The fact is that, yes cellphones, computers and our parents do make a lot of our lives easier than it could have been, however with that being stated, we millennials don't all have easy, charmed, carefree lives. I love my life, but it is not always easy. I’ve had really hard times and I know all of my peers have had hard times. We millennials are not all Kendal and Kylee Jenner, just because we sometimes look to have it all based on our outside appearance; trust me when I say we don't. We have struggles, we have anxiety, and we have uncertainty and we make mistakes. Most of us don't need to be judged by our elders, we do that enough to ourselves. We need to be encouraged and nurtured because, contrary to popular belief, being young isn’t always easy.
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1. Please just be seasonal allergies
You wake up feeling icky one morning and think “Oh it must be allergies, I bet I’m fine.”
2. I must not have gotten enough sleep last night
You go through your day as normal, but you feel gross and more tired than usual.
3. I’ll just take a little nap
You finally get back from class and work and think “Oh, I’m just going to lie down in bed for a little bit.”
4. Oh no, I have so much due tomorrow!
You wake up and realize you slept six hours, it is now 11 pm and you have done none of your homework.
5. I’m fine, I’ll just sleep it off
You stay up until 3 am doing the homework and finally get to go to sleep, you think “Oh I’ll be better in the morning” (clearly you’re in denial).
6. Do I have to be responsible today?
You wake up that morning, you have slept through your alarm and don’t even want to get up.
7. Ugh no, I can’t actually be sick
You start thinking, “maybe this isn’t allergies.”
8. Alright, I’ll take some medicine and I’ll be fine
You throw on clothes really quick, go to your classes (even though you’re late) and go to work anyway (still in denial).
9. This is the worst day of my life
You get back from class and work again and your nose is stuffed, you’re coughing and you feel dizzy.
10. Mom?
You call your mom because she always knows what to do.
11. She was right (like always)
She tells you to take your temperature, you do and you find out you have a fever.
12. Too bad you're busy and can’t take the day off tomorrow
You decide to take some medicine and sleep it off, because of course, you have to be better for class, work and any activity you have for the next day.
13. You think about taking the day off, but realize you have like three tests
The next morning, you’re behind on classwork, you still have a fever, but you can’t miss your classes and you have a very busy day, so you go anyway.
14. You think you're actually going to be sick forever
The cycle continues, until it's either the weekend or you decide work and class can wait and you need a day to rest.
15. Finally, you're better!
Eventually, after being sick through class and work for about a week or so you’re finally better, and you pray that you don’t get sick again, only to do it all over the next month.
1. You only ask things once.
Asking to go to your friends house a second time is futile. In fact, it may make things worse.
2. Seriously, you only ask once.
You don’t get to go out Friday and Saturday, silly child. Choose one.
3. When you do muster up the courage to ask your parents for something, you creep around and wait until they’re in a good mood.
This significantly improves your chances of getting a yes. Pro tip: Doing extra chores helps.
4. Before you get that final yes, you have to go through an interview.
Who are you going with? What time? Where are you going? Who else is going? Who are their parents? Where do they work? How long have they been there?
5. If you ever got “the eye,” you knew you were screwed.
Prepare yourself for a lecture when you get home.
6. You were always the first to leave your group of friends when hanging out.
If you ever want to be able to go out again, you better go home on time.
7. If you say you will be home at a certain time, you better be home at that time.
Calls start coming the minute you’re late.
8. Seeing a missed call from your parents sends fear and horror through your veins.
R.I.P. if you see two or more missed calls.
9. If relatives are coming over to the house, your room better be clean.
Because the one room they will not go in determines the cleanliness of the rest of the house.
10. You are careful about what jokes you share with your parents.
Anything remotely inappropriate results in a 10 second joke turning into a 30 minute lecture.
11. "You’re not an adult until you turn 18! You can do whatever you want then!"
Disclaimer: When you turn 18, it becomes, “My roof, my rules.”
12. If plans change while you’re out, you better text or call.
Don't be that kid that gets caught by their parents driving somewhere they weren't supposed to be.
13. Don’t talk back. Ever.
I don’t care if you were told to hunt down the last unicorn in the world using a pot of gold stolen from the leprechaun at the end of a rainbow. Just do it.
14. When you’re called by your full name, you’re in deep trouble.
Say your prayers.
15. Don’t make them call your name twice.
The second you hear your name being called, drop everything you’re doing and run.
16. Sleepovers are not a thing.
They just aren’t. Why sleep somewhere else when you have a bed at home?
17. Despite all of these things, you know your parents love you.
They might not always show it, but they do.
1. Pets
Getting a pet is great -- cats, dogs, fish, or any sort of thing you can keep makes you care for something beyond yourself and gives you company. (Some are huggable, too!) As a pet owner, you can definitely tell when they’ve gotten into trouble … and sometimes you get a little weird with them. Non-pet owners just wouldn’t understand.
2. Mornings
Without parents to wake you up, how do you even? Or, you know, if you fall asleep at your desk studying because you're working hard. Rough life, man. And mornings were hard enough as it was.
3. Mistakes
We all make mistakes, Ross. It's fine. Whether you mixed your colored laundry with your whites, or you were cleaning and you bleached something that was not meant to be bleached, there's gonna be nobody at fault but you. And even if you're by yourself (or your cat is judging you), you have to own up to it, and move on.
4. Cooking for yourself
Nobody can do sarcasm like Phoebe. Cooking is very exciting in the beginning and all, but once you're at that stage in your life when you're too lazy to even make ramen, and all you have in your fridge is an empty milk carton and some leftovers from last week, well, it's a lot less fun.
5. Hosting
You've finally got a place where your friends can hang and people can come over! But see above. Cooking, cleaning, all that stuff you need to do to prepare for guests is harder than it seems, and if you keep telling yourself that pizza isn't a cop-out, then everything will work out.
6. Taking care of yourself
Just like Chandler, you might not be entirely aware of what health and sanitation is. It's fine, we've all been there. And it's a lot harder than it seems. You're not alone.
7. Holidays
Since you can go all out, you will, and there's nothing your roommates can do about it. Friendsgiving? Heck yeah! St. Patty's Day? Of course! And best of all, Halloween, where your space becomes the spookiest around (on a budget, of course, nobody's made of money).
8. Roommates
So maybe you don't live exactly alone. It's good to have a roommate, right? Especially if they're a good roommate, so you don't have to be picking up after them or complaining to your cat. And when you want to have a do-nothing day, they'll be there for you (and you'll be there for them too.)
9. Keeping focused and getting stuff done
Don't even pretend. That's hilarious. If you can study, good for you, but the rest of us will be over here not doing what we should and hanging out with our friends instead. And cramming and panicking later.
10. Cleaning
If you've ever cleaned a place after a party, you are a survivor, a true warrior. Even cleaning bathrooms or the nooks and crannies of your place before a parent visits will yield some interesting results, however. You never know what you'll find, but it's usually not pleasant.
11. Social life
There's only two modes here: #foreveralone or everything's coming up roses. Without supervision or even any sort of restriction, you can do what you want to when you want to. That means going out ... or staying in. You can do whatever.
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