Boo Hoo

I recently read this article ("Millennials Are Crybabies" - radaronline.com) and I found it to be pretty humorous and (unfortunately for us "Millennials") true.

So, I got to thinking (as I've been rumored to do on occasion)...

As individual "Millennials", we've grown up being showered with praise and been told how "special" and "unique" each and every one of us is. Now, this is a nice idea, but clearly it has gotten out of hand. We have become a generation that expects BIG praise for little work. Essentially, we give ourselves too much credit. I'll admit it- I do it. So do you. Don't lie.

I can think of certain people that are consistently underachieving while acting as though they've just prevented a semi from falling on a nursery school for babies with AIDS. By having every single kid grow up thinking they were already accomplished and "special" does something to a person's ambition and drive, not to mention how uninspired to be interesting and innovative they can be. Sure, we are all different, and sure we are all equipped with traits to excel, but let's not put the carriage before the horse, people.

Personally, I am disappointed in my generation's consistent "middle of the road" view of things. No one wants to really inform themselves too much because, well, they don't have to; they're already special. The more informed I become, the more I wonder why an awareness of the world around us (that would eventually lead to a better understanding of one's self) was not instilled in us early on.

Thanks to the fact that 2008 is an election year, this has become even more evident. I've talked to people that vote for candidates simply because their parents said they should, or because the candidate "seemed cool" (thankfully the best candidate also happens to be the coolest), OR they just don't vote at all because they don't know where they stand, but they DO know how to pop, drop and lock it, so that has to count for something, right? ;)

Here's what I'm getting at (if you're too lazy to try to figure it out)- we've been raised with a sense of false entitlement and it has manifested itself into every part of our lives. We are "eh" about most things because we've been allowed to be...heck, we've even been praised for it. When we get to these new, big kid jobs that require us to form thoughts that may deviate from the comfortable norm with bosses that don't care that you can tie a cherry stem in your mouth, we feel attacked.

...and THAT, my friends, is why Millennials are crybabies.

We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.

- Barack Obama (The Coolest Cat in the Running)