Hello lovely readers!
Please excuse my absence on the blogosphere and social media this week. I’ve been fighting off a cold and had to regroup after I went to an amazing Incubus concert last week (check that one of the life list!). But now I’m back, and with guns blazing after reading up on all the news our generation seems to be making this week.
Is it me or do media outlets love making things seem worse than they actually are? They also love to stereotype the shit out of us, don’t they? This week Gen Y has been dubbed by several outlets as “The Lost Generation” amid some new census numbers that show our high rates of unemployment and thus our stunted growth into adulthood.
Let me start off by saying that as a member of this so-called “Lost Generation” I’m about 3 seconds away from throwing a rock at my television just so I can mute out all the bullshit on the news. Let me also point out the fact that I and several other members of my generation have a job, run a business on the side, have chosen to continue living in our parents house so as to be fiscally responsible and avoid unsurmountable debt (something the previous generation obviously didn’t do such a good job of) and have willingly put romantic relationships aside so we can focus on building a fulfilling career rather than waiting for someone to give us a job. Oh, and I’m also Hispanic which must count in these statistic numbers for something.
But even if I didn’t have job – which I didn’t for several months after graduating – it wouldn’t mean that I am lost. Let’s remember that Gen Y is coming of age during a financial shit storm that wasn’t caused by us. We are simply trying to find our way through a new jungle as we realize that the world of corporations and government bureaucracies is obviously flawed.
Gen Y isn’t sitting on the couch at home watching Jerry Springer as many of these articles seem to imply. We are out there hitting the pavement and working overtime to forge a path that we actually want to take. We are out there trying to find ways to balance work and life so we can have a better quality of life than our predecessors. We are out there sharing, collaborating and creating rather than fighting for the top spot of a corporate ladder. We are taking the time to look inward and realize what actually matters in life. Here’s a hint: it’s not your job or the amount of money you make.
We have created an incredible support system through the various means of social media. We are slowly but surely creating a work force revolution where we call the shots and have flexibility. And we will definitely come out on top. We’ve got the skills, the chops and the balls to turn this around and make it work for us.
I could list countless examples of millenials who are obviously not within the stereotype forced upon us – but most of you already know them. What I want to emphasize instead is that YOU don’t have to be a stereotype. YOU can achieve whatever you want in this life so long as you put your heart and soul into it. YOU can start a business, travel the world, get healthy, chase your dreams and create the life you want. You have free will, use it.
Will adversity get in the way? Absolutely. But that is a fact of life, not a generational trait.
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Yes, Yes, and YES!
You can’t hear it (or see it), but you just made me raise my first in the air and whoop. Truly motivating. We can (and are) creating the world we want to live in. Every generation has faced outside adversity of some sort, but no other generation has stepped up and worked their tails off to make their lives their own quite like this one. So honored to be included in your mentions! I cannot *wait* to see what this generation has in store for it!
I’m glad you liked it
And of course you were in my mentions! Your blog is a perfect example of the point I was trying to make ab Gen Y 