The Problem with Millennials

By: Tired Millennial

I open up Facebook to see how my sisters and brothers are doing.  I scroll through memes, pictures, political posts.

Scroll. Scroll. Scroll.

A friend of my parents has posted a “Millennials have Killed X” article, and I roll my eyes.

Some of my siblings, all older than me, have posted statuses about lazy Millennials and how they do not understand the value of hard work and that not everyone can win all the time.

Snowflake.

Safe space.

An older friend of mine who I worked with posted a picture of a Blockbuster sign claiming Millennials will never know what it is like to rent a video cassette and have to return it.

In frustration I close the app and clear it from my phone.  

At thirty-one I am part of this dreaded “Millennial” generation. The generation of whiners, snowflakes, and “safe spaces.”  The generation of participation trophies and people who never have to work.

Or, as I like to think of it, the generation who has been lied to and then blamed for all the ills of our parents.

The Millennial generation is generally accepted as those who were born between 1981 and 1997.  The oldest of us are thirty-seven; the youngest are twenty-one. Within this age band is a huge difference in experiences, thoughts, and principles.  

Those of us in our thirties, even our early thirties, grew up in a strange time in the transition between analog and digital. We lived through the corded phones and the early internet.  By high school, our schools were beginning to switch to high-speed internet instead of dial-up, but we still mostly used textbooks and paper tools.

I did not have my first cell phone until I was a sophomore in high school, and I shared it with my older sister. We had it because it was to be used for emergencies when driving.  I got my own the next year when I was officially driving on my own. I lovingly call it a dumb phone since all it could do was make phone calls; it was not even able to text. I got my first texting phone my sophomore year of college. My first smartphone?  2013 and only because more and more I was expected to be available at all times for my job.

My first job was actually at a video rental store similar to Blockbuster. So, strike one against the “Millennials do not know anything” comment.  

Or rather, strike one against older Millennials.  To me, the Millennial generation can really be subdivided into older and younger.  Those born before 1990 have a much different experience than those born after. In some ways I feel very disconnected from those Millennials in their twenties.  In some ways they do fit the mold of the “lazy” Millennial. Of course, the only people who can really blame themselves for that are the Baby Boomers and Generation X since they are the ones who raised them. Never see them taking credit for that when they are complaining though.

Maybe all generations feel that way?  Perhaps older Baby Boomers feel annoyed by their younger counterparts.  They are certainly annoyed by Generation X and my fellow Millennials.

But, I digress, I claimed the Millennials, whether it be younger or older, were lied to. What were we lied to about?

College.  The American Dream.  Working hard.

Let me paint a story for you - I was born to white, middle class conservative parents in East Texas.  I grew up in Tyler which is the major metropolitan area of East Texas, which is not saying much. I went to mid-size schools with mid-size classes.  My parents instilled in me from a young age that I was to go to college; both of them were college-educated and successful by those metrics after all.  I was taught that hard work equals success; I was taught to ignore bullies because one day I would be served by them in the drive-through.

I was to major in something safe, like education or medicine because there was always a need for those jobs.  I was to get good grades and be active in school so I could get scholarships and grants. If I needed to take out some money for college, that was fine since I would be able to pay it back easily.  

I point these things out partially to show I was fairly privileged growing up but also to show the prevailing thoughts of those around me.  The lessons of my parents were reinforced by teachers and other adults; it was enforced by media; it was enforced by everyone.

And so I graduated valedictorian of a class of over two hundred. I went to college out of state because that was what was expected of me. I got some scholarships but no grants. It seems my parents’ middle class income (including my dad’s military retirement) meant that they were to pay for my schooling (they did not).  I majored in secondary education, a safe field. I continued to get good grades. I continued to excel.

Then 2008 happened. My junior year of college my professors got upset about retirement and stock markets.  I did not worry however. I was going to be a teacher, a safe career. I would be able to find a job.

When I returned to Texas, I found some harsh realities.  

No, I could not find a job.  A female social studies teacher not interested in coaching?  Pass.

You have student loans to pay, and the only job you can find is full-time at your retail summer job $8.55/hour.

You move back home with your parents into a tiny room and pay your way while working full time.

Still want to be a teacher?  Start subbing on your days off.  Get certified in science or math, a worthwhile subject.  No one cares about social studies.

After two years, I did find a job, teaching part-time. I was promised a higher pay than I received.  My insurance costs skyrocketed while my benefits decreased. I still worked part-time at my retail job.  I worked from November to March straight, no days off minus Christmas Day. When I was not at school struggling to be a first year teacher, I was still mostly doing manager duties at my retail job.

And the whole time, I became more and more upset. Where did I go wrong?  I got good grades, I went to a modestly priced school, I picked a “safe” major.  I networked. I interviewed. I went to job fairs. I substitute taught. I was underemployed and kept working anyhow to make my loan payments.

Still, I was called lazy.  Entitled.

You want health insurance?  You should have chosen a different career.

You want a high wage?  You should have chosen a different career.

You borrowed the money for college; you should pay it back. Maybe you should have chosen a higher paying career.

Over and over and over again.  I hear the same from those older than me.  With sneers I am told all the mistakes I made over and over and over again.

I see my friends, co-workers, everyone in my age bracket struggling with the same things.  Our parents and adults swore and promised they knew, and we listened. And now we struggle.  Now the same people who spoke so highly of us sneer at us and call us lazy.

How dare you want health insurance?  Work full time at a decent job.

You want a higher wage?  You should have chosen a lucrative career!

And you know what?  I am tired of it. My generation is tired of it.

Are we killing the store you liked? Guess it should have innovated instead.

Are we killing an industry you loved? Guess it should have chosen a different thing to focus on.

This is all anecdotal, which means many will brush it off.  But, I can tell from my personal experience, from the experiences of my friends, that we are tired of this.  

We play the game.  We follow the rules we are given.  And then they are changed on us.

So, us older millennials are going to change the game.  

I guess that is really the problem with millennials - we are tired of your crap, and we are not going to take it anymore.