I am a member of
Generation Y.
This is not by
choice.
However, we're a
pretty awesome generation if I do say so myself. We're also known as the
Technology Generation and the Millennials.
When we were born,
personal computers were hilariously horrible, and just starting to become
available to those with a lot of money - now we get our toddlers to sit on the
potty by giving them a cheap tablet to play with.
Instead of having to
adapt to the changes in technology like the generations before us, we expect
and even drive demand for constant technological changes. Unless we're going to be doing programming, we don't feel the need to write our computer
qualifications on our resume, because everyone knows how to do that stuff.
We think our
childhood cartoons are "the" classic cartoons, and, like the elderly
commenting on rap, scoff at the shoddy cartoons of today.
We're much more
green than past generations. One aspect of this is in our transportation choices. Instead of muscle cars, we
want efficiency and quality so that we don't have to waste our money
on gas and repairs. We would actually prefer to not even own a car.
In the cities we're not even bothering to learn how to drive, and we
think of cars as financial burdens, not status symbols.
Most of us are
closer with our parents than our parents were with their parents.
We are making
history with our political involvement. Turning out in record numbers for
elections as well as social and political volunteering.
Our main issue is
the economical circumstances surrounding our coming-of-age.
Contrary to popular
belief, we work hard, we work very hard. We are trying to start our
careers at a time when unemployment is the highest it has been since the great
depression. We're trying hard to find jobs, but we feel so lost. We
want our lives to go somewhere, we want to make an impact in the world, but we
feel like no matter what we try, we'll never be able to succeed, and that is so
discouraging.
A lot of us are
dealing with the judgments from that generation who is slightly older than our
parents. Those who came of age in the 60's and 70's at the height of
American success, and they just can't figure out what's wrong with us.
Entitlement is the word they have decided on - and boy is that rich
coming from them...
For us in the
states, healthcare costs are epically high, and while we know we should have
health insurance, we would also love for someone to tell us how we're supposed
to pay for it.
One of my teachers
once said, during one of his many ramblings to our class, “Shoulda, woulda,
coulda – if you’d been born at a different time, you’d have a job when you
graduate, but that’s your parents’ fault.”
What do you think are
some traits that define the Millennials?
