My best friend has spent the past six weeks studying abroad in London. I miss her dearly and wanted her to know about all of the fun I'm having here at home, so I mailed her a postcard. Yes, me, a millennial mailed a postcard; not a text, a postcard. This is what prompted the man at the post office to call me a lazy millennial. Here's the story.
After a long day at work, I excitedly stopped at the post office on my home. My fingers were crossed that the office was even open, and I was so relieved when the doors were open. I made my way up to the counter and explained that I needed to purchase an international stamp for a postcard going to London. We exchanged small talk about the postcard I had chosen with a collage of pictures from our town, and this small talk continued on to a discussion about London and traveling. This man was excited to say that he had spent a lengthy amount of time living in Europe when he was younger. After a nice chat with the guy, he asked, "Why aren't you over there visiting?" I responded that I wish I had the money to get me over there, but instead I'm spending the summer working. And that's when he said it. "Hah lazy millennial."
At first, his words shocked me, but I didn't want to be rude to the guy so I just laughed it off, and explained how I had actually already been to London anyway. As the day went on, though, I thought more and more about what he had said. There's obviously a stigma around my generation about how we are entitled and lazy. However, I never considered writing a postcard to a friend entitled nor lazy. Nor did I think spending the summer working to earn money fit those categories either. So what was so lazy about me? For the few days following the incident, I thought the man was horribly wrong. However, as the week progressed I understood that he was right. I am a lazy millennial because I was too lazy to stand up to a condescending person. I know that my actions didn't deserve to be criticized in such a way, and I know I'm not lazy (not all the time).
I do know, though, that I could have stood up for myself and told this gentleman that I thought his words were misguided. In all honesty, it just didn't seem like it was worth my time. I wasn't about to talk back to an adult. Maybe I should have. Maybe I should have used all the energy I had left in me after a tiring day to prove an ignorant man that I'm not so lazy after all.
