If you're reading this, you're probably a millennial, meaning you were born between 1980 and 2000. You've probably never rolled up the windows in the car by cranking a handle, carried a pager, had to fuss with a television antenna or used dial-up internet. You probably snuck your Tamagotchi into middle school to keep it alive, had a large collection of Disney DVDs in your basement, begged your parents for a razor flip phone, and flaunted your HitClips.
Our upbringing was different from our parents, who are most likely a part of Generation X or a Baby Boomer. We are the generation of the future, the ones that have experienced major changes in society, which have forever changed lives. Traditional values are slipping through our fingers, and there are countless issues that our generation will face, and have already become challenged with.
Paul Angone is a best-selling author and speaker who has developed an online community for millennials to connect through, as we are all facing the same battles. His website, All Groan Up, is filled with posts about growing up in our generation, talking about the problems we face, are going to face, and basically, how to be an adult as a millennial.
Reaching out to millions in over 190 countries through his book, website and speeches, Angone has been able to provide knowledge to college campuses and corporate companies as a way to better the future which will be run by us. His programs have effectively educated and informed so many with ideas about how to cope with the never-ending changes that our world throws at us.
You are 1 out of 90 million millennials in our country. Within the next four years, half of America's workforce will be run by your generation. And believe it or not, 64 percent of those employees would say that they would rather make less money, doing a job that they love. Show these stats to your eighty-year-old grandparents who are potential immigrants from another country, and they will shake their heads at the information. Change has come, and more is coming.
A post on All Groan Up listed 5 statistics about the challenges that our generation face, followed by Angone's ideas about how to overcome them:
1. "Millennials are the largest generation at over 85-90 million people in the US, and are the most educated generation in history."
2. "Forty percent of unemployed workers are Millennials."
3. "Average college debt for a Millennial is around $33,000 with the median household income remaining the same since 1999."
4. "Millennials are reporting the highest levels of clinical anxiety, stress, and depression than any other generation at the same age."
5. "Millennials are having children at an average age of 30 with 47 percent of births to women in the Millennial generation being non-marital."
Basically, these statistics can prove that our generation is screwed. It's ironic that we are highly educated, explaining our abundance of student loan debt, yet we hold a large portion of the unemployment rate. On top of this financial stress, women are getting knocked up out of wedlock left and right. It's no wonder that our generation has the highest anxiety levels.
No. Don't agree with that statement. Stop taking these statistics and interpreting them negatively. This is the mindset of Paul Angone. Instead of accepting these statistics as the challenges that we face and struggle to overcome, we should attempt to fix them. We cannot change the high cost of education because the workforce is changing, causing high expectations. We cannot undo economic crises, and the fact that many jobs can now be done by machines. We cannot change the lack of traditional values or the fast moving lifestyle that causes stress. Angone's ideas are not to change what has happened or where these statistics came from, but to change our mindset.
In all of his posts, Angone preaches about his personal failures more than his successes. He believes that individuality is what makes millennials unique. Accepting ourselves for who we are and what we believe in and understanding that we each bring something to the table is key. With that being said, it is OK to fail. There is no success without a struggle, without an uphill battle to look back on. And most importantly, Angone says that we are our own enemy; "Many of us don’t want to have difficult conversations with the person we’re avoiding the most — ourselves".
These three ideas to respond to the 5 mind boggling statistics listed above, go beyond what we can see right now. As growing millennials, it is crucial to accept ourselves. With the technological advancements, economic changes, and societal diversity that we have in our day in age, there is no way to become successful without going after what we want for ourselves.
As a fan of Paul Angone and his ideals, I have decided to be selfish. I've decided to move forward towards my goals, practice what I believe in, and challenge myself to see all that is out there. I will be a team player in all of my endeavors, but keep my eyes on my personal prize as I do so. I will get back up when I fall, and try harder the second time around. I will accept diversity and change, and remember that my generation responsible for creating positive changes to our future.
I vow to do all of that, because I am proud to be a millennial. I am not afraid of change and I am not afraid of struggle. Now I ask you, as a fellow millennial, do you vow to do the same?
