Do you hear the trumpets? And the bells? How ’bout the choir boys and their wicked cool building crescendo?
No? You don’t? Well turn up the hearing aids because we have a new Chalkboard question and it’s bringing the house down, whilst raising the roof.
You say, “Impossible!”
I say, “Nay. Doth does sleep whilst men dream.”
Wow…sorry…apparently it’s Monday….
But there is a new Chalkboard question and if you like Awesome, you’re going to like sharing your thoughts below. The Chalkboard Question is…
GEN “Y” DO WE GIVE A CRAPPITY-CRAP?
Over the past few weeks I’ve been talking a lot about my twentysomething Geny, Millennial, Generation and what these terms mean or don’t mean. If you need some fodder before you respond to the Chalkboard Question and have been existing in a cave so you haven’t been blessed with the previous articles, check out: 31 Ways You Know You’re GenY, (srrrriously funny stuff), Why You Don’t Know GenY Like You Think you Do, (I wrote it, so of course I think it’s kick-you-the-face-fantastic), and A GenY’s Rebuttal to New York Times Article, “It’s Not About You” (my dad really liked this one! Darn Tootin! So it must be good).
Alright enough me! (Thank you Jesus). Let’s hear from you!
What Do You Like (or Dislike) Most About Our Generation?
My absolute FAVORITE thing about this generation is our ability and tendency for collaborative learning and acting. I find myself jumping up and down inside when I see my peers interact, collaborate, and partner to get things accomplished. Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps has its perks – but finding others who are excited about those very same bootstraps and tapping into their expertise to help meet a common goal is awesome!
Megan – Extremely, extremely well said. Whomever has the foresight to collaborate with you is a very smart person!
I like the fact that my generation is so passionate about their pursuits, and won’t take anything less than they feel they deserve. It lets the world know we don’t have low expectations.
One thing I dislike about my generation though is that we seemed to be highly driven by our self. It seems we always want to see how something will benefit us before thinking of the anyone else. We seem to feel entitled to a certain level of receiving things in life. This applies to jobs, relationships, school, and even religion.
Thanks Holly for these two insightful thoughts. Do you think we are so passionate because we are so driven by self — so if we remove one, we remove the other?
Humility and Sacrifice doesn’t seem to be two of our stronger characteristics collectively. But I wonder without these how far will we really be able to go?
I think our generation has become a lot more open-minded than previous generations. I don’t necessarily mean that in the sense that people our age tend to have worldviews perceived as liberal – We’ve started taking things a step further to move past labels of race, class, gender, sexuality and life choices entirely. You wrote, for example, about how archetypes associated with certain generations are fluid. I see this type of thought process more often in my peers than in my parents’ generations, and some people my age have opened my eyes and changed the way I think more than anyone older than me.
These are some EXCELLENT reads and examples of this shift in social thinking. Notably, all are written by people currently in their 20s. I would be interested to know if anyone older has written articles like these.
http://www.drshebloggo.com/2011/05/liz-lemon-and-leslie-knope-post.html
http://felldowntherabbithole.tumblr.com/post/6453072763
http://www.drshebloggo.com/2011/06/born-this-gray-dianna-agron-social.html
http://www.drshebloggo.com/2011/06/more-gray-follow-up.html
Sarah,
I thought I’d share a really interesting blog post from a Tweep of mine, @clayforsberg – a Boomer. I think his opinion about Gen Y is pretty rare for his generation but he addresses his own idea about generational archetypes here.
http://23ca.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/lady-gaga-and-the-heroes-of-normandy-beach/
I think we are so passionate about ourselves that it causes us to be blind to other people sometimes. People have always thought of themselves when making decisions, but it seems it has became more of a problem. For example, in relationships, people now approach it with a list of things they expect to find in the other person instead of also focusing on what they should be for that person. We end up forgetting to appreciate the jobs, relationships, opportunities, and beliefs we have. I don’t think you can ever remove being driven by self, but hopefully we can learn to not let it consume our every want in life. It’s also not a completely bad thing to watch out for yourself, but it needs to be balanced so it isn’t only about that.
I agree that we lack in humility and sacrifice. Sometimes we have to humble our expectations and sacrifice if we ultimately want to achieve a level of happiness. I don’t think we’ll achieve much if some sacrifice isn’t made somewhere along the way.
“I think we are so passionate about ourselves that it causes us to be blind to other people sometimes”
Great point Holly. Being raised in a competitive culture – aka college admissions being a prime example, it’s hard not to be focused on self-achievement over other. I think some are bucking that trend for sure, but it definitely seems a part of our cultural DNA
I don’t know that I subscribe to the belief that Gen Y lacks in humility and sacrifice. The amount of volunteerism performed by Gen Y far outranks generations past and I think that’s a good indicator of both humility and sacrifice.
I feel like Gen Y is not so much burdened in the feeling of entitlement as much as we’ve had the thoughts of “set high standards” and “only rely on yourself” emblazoned into our minds at the same time our Boomer parents were bailing us out and providing us with the life they never had. Combining those three components could cause the *appearance* of entitlement but I feel as if it’s just that high standards and high expectations were kind of inherited through our upbringings.
P.S. If I had a nickle for every time my parents said “Go to college and you’ll get a good job with a pension,” I’d be deliriously rich.
“I don’t know that I subscribe to the belief that Gen Y lacks in humility and sacrifice.”
mmmm…I think it’s a yes/no here. I think humility is formed through those desert, wilderness, butt getting kicked, experiences that leave you with an accurate portrayal of who you are and who you are not. I think with the rough couple years we’ve experienced many in our generation have begun to form a certain level of humility. But I would say the verdict is still out….
Megan – Thanks for the link! That’s really cool how Clay compares Millenials to the Greatest Generation – what a huge compliment given how respected our grandparents are.
I agree with your comments also about Gen Y being trapped in a Catch-22 – we’re expected to prove ourselves to our parents, and when we do, we’re told how many resources we’ve been given that got our feet in the door. I don’t think our parents always intend to convey this, but it’s definitely something I relate to.
Ok, Negative Nancy here. Whamp-Whamp. What do I DISLIKE most about our generation? Men wearing bedazzled jeans, graphic tees (not to mention any brands that start with an ‘A’ and end with a ‘Fliction’), popped collars etc. Did you ever see your Dad with his collar popped!? 🙂
And I love my iPhone, don’t get me wrong. But I hate how much I depend on that little black box. It would be nice to strike up a conversation with a stranger in line at Starbucks or in an elevator, but everyone is too busy checking their tweets, Facebook, e-mails, weather app, fantasy football stats, etc. Geeeez! Our gadgets are turning us into anti-social NERDS!
Challenge: Put your phone down and strike up a casual convo with a stranger this week. I dare ya 🙂 🙂
Ha. Haley well said! Lots of truth in there. Especially since I read your comment while standing in line doing my best to avoid all human contact
I love how our generation is driven and believes in dreams and that you can create your own fate…at the same time, I dislike how little we’re willing to sacrifice to reach those dreams. I see a lot of people my own age filled with entitlement, waiting on the world to make their dreams come true, blaming everyone around them for their failure.
If you have a goal, then you better get ready to work for it! Nothing that’s worth something comes by easy…at least not most of the time. I also wish we were able to focus on people around us more… you want to reach your goals with honor and dignity, not trampling on people along the way.
Stellar points Allin. Completely agree. Well said.
There’s definitely a fail-proof secret to success: hard work. I tried for years to pretend that wasn’t the case. And I wasn’t very successful.