Our Generation is Going to be OK, OK?

August 11, 2010 3:00 pm     Posted in Reality  Alexandra Gehringer g+ page

I feel like everyday I’m reading stories, such as the one The Huffington Post ran yesterday, that dish out an extra-large helping of negativity aimed at my generation- the Millenials, Gen-Y, the Peter Pan Generation, Generation Next, the Echo Boomers.  We seem to inspire a lot of labels, but sadly not as much confidence from our predecessors.  They say we’re drowning in debt, hopelessly unemployed, cluelessly over-educated…I say f*ck you.


By Alexandra Gehringer

Do I sound bitter?  That’s because I am.  As a recent graduate, I’m experiencing a lot of what my elders are talking about.  Yes, I’m unemployed.  Yes, I’m an intern.  And yes, I will be paying off my student loans for the next thousand years.  But, unlike Mom and Dad, I’m not writing my generation off just yet.  Here’s why:

We’re pretty freakin’ smart. In numbers exponentially greater than previous generations, we’re earning college degrees and seeking even higher education.  Add the fact that we’re tech-savvy and hip to social networking and you might just say our generation revolutionized the way humans interact.  Next time you catch your mom getting her Facebook fix, tell her Mark Zuckerberg was just 20 when he launched the site from his dorm room in 2004.

We’re ballsy. I believe the term “disrespectful” has been tossed around quite a bit in regard to the spawn of the Baby Boomers.  Now, I’m not about to defend Kanye’s stage manners (and lack thereof) or the oft-terrifying rap stylings of Eminem, but I will say that young people today know what they want and aren’t afraid to be outspoken about it.  We engage politicians, confront campus officials, and know how to protest like it was Vietnam all over again.

We give back. In a move that was practically insisted upon by our parents, high schools the nation over require students to complete community service hours.  Thing is, even after we graduate from the minor leagues, we continue helping out in college and beyond.  Building houses, rescuing stray animals, cleaning up natural disasters- we’re there representing in huge numbers.

We’re hopeful. Don’t let anyone tell you this is a minor point.  The fact that we can be the target of so much scrutiny and stereotyping while still sticking it out in this terrible economy speaks volumes.  I don’t care if I sound like a motivational speaker; it’s important to stay positive and keep looking for a job/working hard at your job even when there’s someone telling you you’re lazy and over privileged.  I think we’re doing just fine.

13 Comments on "Our Generation is Going to be OK, OK?"

  1. stephaniehardiman says:
    Wed, 11th Aug 201010:10 am 

    Here here! Just yesterday I tweeted at the HuffPost to stop being so negative. Their response? "Just reporting the news" – don't give me that, I'm a journalist! HuffPost College is a POS pub that makes everything into a slide show so it can get ten times as many clicks to make up for it's crappy content.

  2. Misnomer says:
    Thu, 12th Aug 201011:06 am 

    I’ve also read statistics saying many of our generation is interested in working in Non-profit and believe that having a job that they enjoy is more important than one that pays a ridiculous amount. I also see a lot of my classmates studying to go into unpopular but needed fields such as teaching and social work.

    Today’s a different world in a lot of ways. Newcomers to the workforce can’t expect to stay at a job longer than three years, so of course we’re not going to have a lot of job loyalty unless the company shows they deserve it. We’ve watched our parents be laid off from companies they worked weekends at for years, making us unwilling to do the same thing. Watching our parents’ marriages fall apart have made us less willing to settle down with one person. And stress from working and going to school have made us want to party more.

    And the author is right. We are very opinionated, which, considering many adults say we aren’t well-informed about current events, I would think that was a good thing that we’re able to run our mouths about healthcare, the president, and the economy.

    And not all adults think we are a hopeless case. Some articles say that we can be a huge asset to our employers because we ask for what we want, are willing to volunteer, and are well educated.

    http://studentswhostillhavesouls.blogspot.com

  3. Alli says:
    Mon, 16th Aug 20104:26 am 

    Ummm….Anyone remember all the fuss about Gen-x? I remeber my mom being super-worried about my brother cause of all the hoopla about the gen-x'ers…we're way better than them!!!!! (jk, sorta!) I love being a part of Gen-y, I think we're one of the most community oriented generations in a long time. We are the generation that joined the armed forces after 9/11. We are a generation that stands up for equality (boo prop 8!). We are the generation that elected the first African-American president. (1-regardless of what you feel about him politically, it's still a huge deal, 2-we had a massive young voter turnout in 2010). In short….WE ROCK!!!!!!

  4. Misnomer says:
    Tue, 17th Aug 201012:53 pm 

    Alli, that's a good point as well. For every generation, the one before them thinks that they are going to Hell in a handbasket and taking the rest of the world with them. When teenagers and college students were protesting and experimenting, their parents worried about what the world was coming to because their morals did not match. Those teenagers are the same adults who are worried about us today. I think it was Socrates said that there was no hope for the youth of his day. One day we will freak out about our children because, again, our values won't match.

    http://studentswhostillhavesouls.blogspot.com

  5. Speedy pixie says:
    Tue, 17th Aug 20105:13 pm 

    Yep, i gotta agree with my fellow commenters and the author of this article, sure our generation has it's low points but hey we're really making a difference and in our own way, just like the past generations did. I think this generation is still fresh and we're not about to stop surprising the old world! Besides we're gonna be cleaning up the mess the baby boomers left us with.. thanks alot..

  6. Leah says:
    Thu, 19th Aug 20104:07 pm 

    I think it's funny that you point out we're unemployed.

    Yes, we're unemployed. But only because people don't retire nearly as early as they used to because you can't live anymore without a job. If the old people retired, there would be more job opportunities for our generation. There is an English teacher at the high school I attended who has been there f-o-r-e-v-e-r and half the time could never even function properly or walk very well. That's putting new English majored graduates aside at crappy minimum wage jobs.

  7. Nesta says:
    Sun, 22nd Aug 201011:44 am 

    *claps* We're going to be fantastic! I'm tired of "adults" saying how debt ridden we are, how we're jobless, and all this negative stuff. Um, first of all, we didn't do this to ourselves. Sorry to the adults for those of us who turned 18-24 this year. Since we are "so horrid". I'm like this, I just turned 18, I didn't start the war, I didn't bring this country to a recession, I didn't crash Wall Street, I didn't ruin the environment with pollution and oil, and I didn't create a jobless economy. All the poepl BEFORE us did. We're the ones who have to solve the problems. We didn't ask for it. So, I know my generation will stand up strong and we'll find a way to make it. It's not like we have a choice anyways…

    *steps off stool*

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