Millennial Me (Mini-rant alert)

Being born between the years of 1982 - 2004 has made me one of the estimated 81.1 million labeled with the cringe-worthy, contemptible title of millennial.

I hear about my generation a lot. In fact, you might say the label millennial gets thrown around, and it's really never in a positive way. We are known for being pampered, never knowing hardships, our need for "safe spaces", our inability to function without our phones, and how we've ruined dating by thinking Tinder and serious conversations via text message are the way to develop a lasting relationship. It's true. These things have reared their collective heads as part of a ugly culture shift that is taking over our country with tremendous force. Today's generation worry over things like data limits, unfinished seasons of TV shows on Netflix, and which dairy substitute they should get in their Venti Starbucks (guys, avoid soy. For real though.)

The truth is, we millennials do have our fair share of real struggles. In my generation, relationships between men and women are, at best, a hot mess. It's acceptable, and relatively normal, to date around, never looking for anything more serious than a hookup with whoever you currently find attractive. In an article written about the impact of family structure on children, and society in general, it spoke of how many young adults described marriage as "old fashioned" and "confining", leading them to believe that co-habitation was a healthier way for them to have a relationship, while not giving any more of themselves than required. This fact probably leads directly into the downhill shift in divorce rates, which were reported in 2016 to be at a 40 year low. We're experiencing less divorces, because there are less marriages. Less marriages lead to more children being raised in single parent households, which have been proven to lead to physical, emotional, and academic struggles.

I think a huge disadvantage for my generation was being raised to occupy every spare moment we have focusing on something new. A phone, a game, a text. At any given moment, we are never just here, observing our surroundings, thinking about our futures, pondering deep truths. It's a good thing to not always be occupied. It's a good thing to let our minds wander, to discover and ponder new thoughts and ideas. Instead, we are reading news media, heavily biased one way or another, or other people's tweets, Facebook feeds, or Instagram captions to form our ideas. Talk about the blind leading the blind.

I'm obviously willing to say there are things about my generation that stink, but I won't admit that without pointing to the very obvious elephant in the room.

Simple fact: Cupcake, safe space, Tinder using, head-in-the-cloud (or i-cloud) millennials exist for a very simple reason. Because their parents and teachers groomed them to be that way.

I can already hear the arguments coming my way. Yes, they're adults, yes, a millennial can be as old as 36 right now, and thus can't blame their parents or teachers for their terrible life choices and lack of clear thought. To that I would ask this; who answered their questions, and instilled their values in their formative years? Who gave them the tools to hone their thinking skills or their morals? Who impressed their standards and ideals on them?

Um, yeah. Parents and teachers again.

Millennials: Life has a purpose, and it's a lot more than the dating scene, the technology scene, or our dream job. Morals are extremely important. There is a truth, and the rest are all lies. Every generation has faced their hardships and dilemmas and now it's our turn. We've neither earned nor deserve an easy life. Time to play with the cards we've been dealt.

Parents: If you raise your child to be something you hate, you will hate your children. Oh, and destroy society, but, you know, no biggie.

Image source: http://www.digitalistmag.com/files/2015/03/millennials