As a Millennial, I consider myself a young, fly, flash, tech savvy and innovative businesswoman who doesn't like rigidity and inflexibility within my life. A while back in graduate school circa 2007-2009, I knew that I wasn't equipped and rigid to work a 9-5 and remain on a job for 30 plus years with receiving a watch or plaque for my loyalty to a particular agency, organization or for profit like my parents received. No disrespect to my parents because they are living a fruitful life of retirement and they are happy, healthy and doing their thing as retirees. My parents are Baby Boomers who actually birth two Generations Xers (my brothers) and my the Millennials. I always felt that my brothers were born in an amazing generation due to the culture of the world, the birth of Hip Hop, the upswing of the economy and being reared by younger parents. I had to wrong because I realized that I had best of both worlds because I was able to indulge in the Gen Xers culture while figuring out which generation I belong to.
Beginning of the Millennial Generation
I like to consider my generation as the birth of modernized technology, ADHD society and the birth of innovation. I remember being in elementary school at The James J. Chittick in Hyde Park, MA and being introduced to children who were deemed "hyper" and "behavioral"who were unable to pay attention in class while the teacher were providing the lesson of the day. I also remember these same kids being labeled as bad children who had to sit in the corner for fidgeting in their chairs, not paying attention to the teacher or acting out. As a 32 year old woman, I looked back at some of my former classmates and realized how bored out their mind these children were and how the teacher was able to detect these behaviors and figure out another plan for the class. Also, back when I was in elementary school we had this wonderful thing called recess in which we were able to go outside or stay inside to play and get all that extracurricular activity out our system without driving the teacher out of the education profession. I also remember coming back in from recess and having the ability to stay on task with schoolwork. What a difference between than and now.
Within my generation, I remember being introduced to MacIntosh computers aka Apple and the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail is the godparent to modern electronic games such as Tetris, Candy Crush and other addictive games. In order to play The Oregon Trail, you had to be on your best behavior during computer time with Ms. Fulton-Brown (my computer teacher at The Chittick) In computer class, we were able to learn how to type on the computer by using a word processing software and it was not a word document software. It was interesting teaching my family about computers because they didn't have a clue about using a computer because it was a foreign object in most homes back in the 80s. We had a word-processor which was a bulky computer like machine to type out documents like a typewriter but it had a computer screen attached so you can see what you were typing.
I can go on and on about the beginning of the Millennial Generation but I am going to stick with the basics and what make a Millennial thrive within their personal and professionally life. Majority of the time, we are often looked down upon because we are the most educated, underemployed, diverse, and misunderstood generation of our time. I am going to breakdown some of these myths below from a Millennial point of view.
Let us Millennials Live!
Millennials are the largest and most technologically savvy generation born between the ages of 1980-2000. Millennials or Gen Yers have surpassed the Baby Boomers generation as the largest population. Millennials are 95 million deep while the Baby Boomers are 78 million deep. Within the past year, I just realized that I was a part of this interesting and unique generation due to being interviewed as a top Millennial within my community (wow). So, I've decided to write about being a Millennial and represent my Clique to the fullest.
As a Millennial, I consider myself a young, fly, flashy, tech savvy and innovative businesswoman who doesn't like rigidity and inflexibility within my life. A while back in graduate school circa 2007-2009, I knew that I wasn't equipped and rigid to work a 9-5 and remain on a job for 30 plus years with receiving a watch or plaque for my loyalty to a particular agency, organization or for-profit like my parents received. No disrespect to my parents because they are living a fruitful life of retirement and they are happy, healthy and doing their thing as retirees. My parents are Baby Boomers who actually birth two Generations Xers (my brothers) and me, the Millennial. I always felt that my brothers were born in an amazing generation due to the culture of the world, the birth of Hip Hop, the upswing of the economy and being reared by younger parents. I had to run because I realized that I had best of both worlds because I was able to indulge in the Gen Xers culture while figuring out which generation I belong to.
Beginning of the Millennial Generation
I like to consider my generation as the birth of modernized technology, ADHD society and the birth of innovation. I remember being in elementary school at The James J. Chittick in Hyde Park, MA and being introduced to children who were deemed "hyper" and "behavioral" who were unable to pay attention in class while the teacher was providing the lesson of the day. I also remember these same kids being labeled as bad children who had to sit in the corner for fidgeting in their chairs, not paying attention to the teacher or acting out. As a 32-year-old woman, I looked back at some of my former classmates and realized how bored out their mind these children were and how the teacher was able to detect these behaviors and figure out another plan for the class. Also, back when I was in elementary school, we had this wonderful thing called "recess" in which we were able to go outside or stay inside to play and get all that extracurricular activity out our system without driving the teacher out of the education profession. I also remember coming back in from recess and having the ability to stay on task with school work. What a difference between then and now.
Within my generation, I remember being introduced to Macintosh computers aka Apple and the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail is the godparent to modern electronic games such as Tetris, Candy Crush, and other addictive games. In order to play The Oregon Trail, you had to be on your best behavior during computer time with Ms. Fulton-Brown (my computer teacher at The Chittick) In computer class, we were able to learn how to type on the computer by using a word processing software and it was not a word document software. It was interesting teaching my family about computers because they didn't have a clue about using a computer because it was a foreign object in most homes back in the 80s. We had a word-processor, which was a bulky computer like a machine to type out documents like a typewriter, but it had a computer screen attached so you can see what you were typing.
I can go on and on about the beginning of the Millennial Generation but I am going to stick with the basics and what makes a Millennial thrive within their personal and professional life. The majority of the time, we are often looked down upon because we are the most educated, underemployed, diverse, and misunderstood generation of our time. I am going to break down some of these myths below from a Millennial point of view.
Let us Millennials Live!
Millennials usually get a bad rep for being called entitled, narcissist, spoiled, disloyal, lazy, unstable and free spirited individuals. Give Millennials a chance to prove how witty, educated, innovated and flexible we are.
1. Millennials thrive of flexibility. As a mentioned above, I knew I was no equipped to work on anyone's job from 9-5pm. Most agencies, corporations, and organizations are rigid when it comes to work hours, sick time and paid time off. Millennials thrive on flexibility, telecommunication, location independence and freedom to create their own work hours and space. We can get the job done, whether it is in the office or at home, but we need more independence and freedom to be creative, be us and get the job done. Hence, why we love technology because we can work from the beach by having our MacBook, iPhone 5/6 and positive vibes to get the job done.
2. Millennials aren't lazy, we are quick and ongoing learners. Millennials usually are not committed to jobs long term due to being able to grasp the job duties and responsibilities at an accelerated rate. We are not lazy in performing our job duties and responsibilities, we are bored out our minds doing the daily mundane things. We need to challenge, creative outlet, and input and voice to share with others. Many times, we feel shunned and out the loop because we are often not included due to our youthfulness and inexperience.
3. Millennials like to travel and explore. As a Millennial, I lived in a few states for school and work. I often get the side-eyed from potential employers because I lived in five states, studied abroad, held numerous of jobs and job titles and live life to the fullest. Many employers will try to penalize you because you are living a fruitful life and don't understand why you can't commit to a job, location, home or someone else. We love to live life to the fullest, boldly, and loudly, but sometimes get discriminated against because some individuals are either fearful to live their life to the fullest by experiencing the abundance that life has to offer. Millennials stay unbothered, unashamed and unapologetic for living life to the fullest.
4. Millennial are overeducated and underemployed. While watching the State of the Union last night, President Obama mission is to strengthen the middle class and increase higher paying jobs to the economy. I have to cosign with him because as a Millennial, I know I am worth more and I have the two degrees to prove it. Many Millennials are working two and a half or three jobs just trying to survive never mind thrive The struggle is not real because we were created to thrive, but how can you thrive when you are overeducated, underemployed with a high ass student loan hanging over your head? I will wait for the answer because Auntie Sallie Mae is waiting for her money on payday and have no problem harassing you for it.
5. Millennials are waiting longer for things such as... Having children and getting married are listed last on the list for Millennials. We are getting married later in life due to being committed to our careers, businesses, travel and making us. Millennials are often waiting to have children because they are financially insecure, selfish or don't have the time to parent children. Plus, childcare is extremely expensive, parenting is stressful and it does put a yield to fulfilling other dreams and obligations. I was reading an article on the Pew Research website that the more education a woman requires, the longer she is going to wait to start a family and that's ok. Like I have mentioned in my previous blog article, it is no one's business to ask anyone when are they going to start a family.
6. Millennials are less likely to practice organized religion. Many Millennials especially African Americans are fleeing from churches and tuning into spirituality versus religion. Many Millennials are skeptical about organized religious institutions. I am sure many Millennials have their own reasons on why they are distrustful of religious institutions.
7. Millennials love and swear by technology. I absolutely love technology and appreciate the evolution of technology made since the early 80s. I remember AOL dial-up internet services, you couldn't use the phone while being on the internet. Now, you can be on the phone, your cell phone, listen to music and etc. I remember having my own line in my room, having a pager and a two-way pager, not using your cell phone until after 9 pm due to "free" minutes and texting was non-existence. Nowadays, we have data plans, can send pictures, text messages, music via Bluetooth and other outlets. We can Skype or Facetime our love ones who live out of state. I love how both of my Baby Boomer parents are able to text and use technology better than my Gen X brother lol.
You can receive all kinds of information at the touch of your phone or tablet. I love technology because it is powerful and resourceful. You can move mountains via social media, start movements and jump start your career. I just haven't jumped on the Instagram bandwagon just yet and probably will not because my time is limited to building my Empire.
I hope you all enjoyed reading about Millennials and how we are often the misunderstood generation. Remember, we are a part of the ADHD society, ushered in the technology era, love freedom and independence and love to embrace other walks of life.
Are you a Millennial? If so, what other myths have you heard about being a Millennial? If you are from a different generation, how can you help bridge the generational gap?
Thank you for reading Brown Girl From Boston blog post. We love and appreciate your constant support.
XOXO,
Drea
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