The other day, my dad needed some more of the water he uses to make coffee, so I was sent to town to buy some.
While I was at the store, I overheard a conversation between a group of three middle-aged men dressed in camo.
“These damn kids don’t have no work ethic at all. When I was their age, I was working on the farm full time.”
Once I heard that, I paused, acted like I was thoughtfully considering my water options, and listened for more. It turns out that I jumped in on the end of their conversation, but it was enough for me.
I grabbed my water, glanced at the men in camo one last time, and thought, “Little do you know that you just landed yourself a spot in this week’s blog post.”
Generation gaps are real. And they definitely can create tension.
Millennials, in case you haven’t heard already, we have been labeled as narcissistic, materialistic, unintelligent, and entitled. And apparently lazy.
While this might apply to some of us (because I’m not saying we’re perfect), I’m sure we can all agree that these stereotypes are unfair.
Not only do we have to deal with these labels, but we also have some technological hurdles to clear.
The workplace is changing. While manual labor is still necessary, we also have more jobs in technological fields than ever. Entirely new career paths are opening, such as social media marketing and travel blogging. These jobs did not exist previous generations. Generation gaps are growing exponentially, and it’s making it harder and harder for us to gain the respect of Generation Xers and Baby Boomers.
None of this is anyone’s fault; it’s simply the rate at which the world is evolving. The fact that we have trouble understanding each other does not have to do with us, it has to do with our environments. It's no one's fault that we have grown up differently than previous generations, and vice versa. It just means that we have different ideas on the way to live our lives.
Unfortunately, Millennials, we may never be able to close the generation gap completely, but I am here to tell you that we don’t suck. Sure, we may be led to more unconventional ways of doing things, such as taking online classes or making a living from an Etsy store, but unconventional does not mean wrong. Although we may be misunderstood from time to time, we are not all narcissistic, materialistic, unintelligent, entitled, and lazy. We are creative, passionate, bold, innovative, and interested in making an impact.
Millennials, don’t ever give up doing what you love, no matter how many times the world tells you it won’t work. I believe in you.
