WHOAH: An Article about Millennials (by someone who actually is one!)

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J.M.J.

People seem to love articles about millennials. They click on them and then comment on them. I've noticed something really interesting about all these articles: they are written by people who are not actually millennials. I thought you might like an opinion from an expert. Someone who is actually a millennial. All other articles are outside observations written by individuals who do not fall into the millennial category; therefore, they are merely speculating and spewing out words through their own individual filters picked up from a non-millennial time period.

I'm not a typical millennial. I share some traits which have been stereotyped onto our generation, but in many ways, I have carved my own path and done things atypical to the usual journey traveled (or not traveled) by my age sector.

What do I mean by traveled or not traveled? I see a lot of complacency in my peers. There is a reason that we are called a selfish, entitled, and lazy generation: because a lot of us are. Is it all our parents' fault? Let's look at it this way: we wouldn't be that way if we weren't allowed to be. That's right, parents. You're not off the hook. You are enablers of the very behavior you bemoan. You complain that your kids are still living at home way into adulthood? Who is allowing that to happen? If you didn't allow them to do that, they wouldn't be doing it. So, the fault rests on your shoulders.

It has been said that we have no motivation. We don't have motivation because we've never needed it. Everything has been handed to us on a silver platter. Think of it like cats who are domesticated. They don't catch mice because their food is handed to them. There is no reason to be motivated to do anything different.

So if you are going to complain, older generation, about millennials, take a look in the mirror. Take some blame, because it is your fault. Quit complaining about how we are, and recognize that you coddled and pampered us so much that we have no reason to be motivated, selfless, or hard-working. You have done it all for us with the best intentions, but that has made us into the very individuals that you complain about. I'd like to see some articles written about the real culprits: the parents of the millennials. 

You may feel that this article is full of blame. If you feel that way, maybe it's because I'm right. I don't always say a lot, but I do observe a lot. And what I see is what I have typed here. People are afraid of the truth. The truth will set you free. I'm here to illustrate a point. You, the parents, are the guilty ones. 

And now, as millennials, we have the responsibility to be different than how we were raised. Because frankly, we have been raised to be takers, not givers. Society will not progress in a favorable direction with this kind of mindset.

I am an exception to the rule only because my parents were different. They made a lot of mistakes, as all parents do, but I also want to thank them for raising me the way that they did, because it made me into the person I am today. Because I wasn't handed everything on a silver platter, I learned how to work hard. Because I wasn't allowed to be fully immersed in the culture, I have a mindset shaped by a worthwhile, exceptional, and highly intellectual education. It is because of them that I am different from the rest. 

Move forward, millennials. You don't have to listen to all the jargon written about you. It's propaganda written as rants. And it's all lies. Sure, there's a lot wrong with this generation. But believe me, the guilty ones are not you. But you will become guilty if you keep living the way that you were enabled and taught to live. Guilty of living a life devoid of meaning. You were raised to be a taker. Now go out into the world and give something back. Thank your parents for all the help, and then give back to them. A hundredfold.

In Christ,

Stephanie