Every August I get my bill from school. I go to a private Franciscan college where I collect a sizable amount of student aid from both the school itself and the federal government. I am very privileged to be able to attend this college and gain an education.
I owe my school around $7,000 for the 2016-2017 school year. That comes down to about $3,500 a semester. I can only compare my bill to those of my roommates. Between the four of us, I owe the least.
I must admit upfront that there are things I could have done to lessen the money I owe to my school. I could have lived in a smaller dorm. In fact, I could have lived at home (although some scholarships require students to live on campus). You could maybe argue that I could have chosen to go to a different college, however, public or private, because of the differentiating student aid systems set up in each college I applied to all those years ago, the amount I would have been paying out of pocket was around the same.
Because I am a full time student who pays for her own schooling, I work two-part time jobs during the school year. I work in retail in a small bookstore out by the mall and I work in the Writing Center on my college campus. During the summer I pick up more hours (as many as my boss is willing to give me) at the bookstore. Last year, on top of both jobs, I interned at a public museum and was awarded a small grant for my time there.
But why am I telling you all this? My story is far from unique, and definitely not the most stressful. I know full time students who work full time jobs, some with children at home. I know students who receive far less aid than I do. I know students who go to bigger and more expensive (and probably infinitely more impressive) colleges and pay almost all their tuition out of pocket.
My problem is this:
Let’s address this.
Why do people think millennials are lazy, stupid, and the worst? What have I done, in my short twenty years on this Earth, to earn these titles? What have other millennials, those older and younger than me, done to get so much animosity thrown at them?
Why are millennials considered lazy? Why, when I made a joke to cashier at Walmart about my transaction not going through, did he not so jokingly tell me I should get a job? Would he have said this to an older woman? Why do older people assume that because I am young I don’t work? The answer to these questions I usually get is that millennials are entitled. But that only poses other questions.
Why do older generations think millennials are entitled? I just want a job when I graduate. Don’t they want jobs, as well? Don’t millennials deserve to desire financial stability the same way older generations do? You can’t tell me I’m not working for it, just like they did. I work at my jobs and I pay my own bills, just like they do. Let me tell you, when I first started working in retail, it was not the millennials that seemed entitled. On my first day of retail work, I had older gentleman yell and curse at me for my slow service because he “was going to be late to a movie.”
And we’re stupid too? Aren’t I going to college just like many older generations went to college? Shouldn’t I get the chance to educate myself just like they did? Hasn’t the number of 18-24 year olds attending college risen in the last few years? According to the National Center for Education Statistics college enrollment has risen 20 percent between 2003 and 2013 (x).
And to top it all off we’re also the worst. The worst what? Voters? Citizens? The overall worst Generation? It’s true, many millennials don’t vote, or simply distrust the two party system. The upcoming November election will be the first in which I am allowed to participate. Many of us have lost faith in the current political systems and we are too young to do anything to seriously alter or change them. Before you question my distrust of all politicians, remember my budding political opinions have been formed by the world of Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.
Am I the worst citizen? Listen, I know this is a stretch and all, but I didn’t kill the economy. It’s not tanked because of me. I didn’t wake up in 2006 at the age of ten and decide I was going to pop the housing bubble, or whatever. It’s not on me that gas rose to almost $4.00 per gallon before I even owned a car. I didn’t shape the political world that crapped out Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Listen, all I think I’m entitled to is a little respect. Not a lot, just a little. Now you might say to me: But Taylor, respect has to be earned! But aren’t we also told to respect our elders on principle? Disclaimer: I’m not about to go around disrespecting the elderly, but I would really appreciate it if a little of that respect was thrown back at me.
My final piece of advice? Tip your waitress. She’s probably putting herself through college.
