As we, the millennials, are approaching the 40s, it's time to take a breath and remember all the things we thought were once cool. And everything we saw in less than four decades.
Gen Z will never understand the bullying Millennials got from the boomers. Although my generation got blamed for everything, including the "killing" of the diamond industry, we got through it, and it's time to reminisce about the gold old days. Except for us, the good old days never happened, so we learned to deal with our crap while living in constant anxiety. Why? Well, previous generations didn't care about their legacy, and it was always up to us to fix the issues.
While baby boomers hate technology with passion, and Gen Zs have no idea how it was possible that people used phones with cords, we saw it all. Myspace, the rise, and fall of Facebook, reality stars becoming global celebrities, economic crises, wars, avocados…
At first, we were witnesses, wondering, then we started growing up and faced reality. But our real fight just started, and it's mostly concentrated on self-preservation and saving the planet. Thank you for that one, boomers!
Our fights are getting bigger: who do you think was responsible for taking down sexual predators in Hollywood? Which generation is using social media to raise awareness that we aren't equal, that sexism, racism, antisemitism, misogyny are deeply rooted in the world's society?
Who are we to talk about these issues? Well, for one, we can live without technology, because we grew up without it. We also know all its advantages and disadvantages since we are the ones using it daily. We are also the ones dealing with money issues due to the simple fact that no one paid attention to the world economy and what's going to happen to ordinary folks.
Yes, millennials are getting older, but it's not as scary as we thought it would be. Maybe because we were never really young. Instead, we witnessed some of the greatest injustices, and parts of us matured overnight. Other parts are still kids because you cannot be forced to grow up and be a perfectly functioning adult.
On the much brighter side, we got to see MTV with real music and spent our childhoods outside. We are adaptable and ever-changing, like cassette tapes, turned into DVDs, turned into streaming services. Most of us never had a critical thought about someone based on their skin, gender, or sexual preferences. We are accepting snowflakes, always breaking some outdated norms and rules, going way beyond the sexual revolutions, and making flower crowns.
Many millennials are now parents, so our efforts were never selfish. We might not fully speak the language of the younger generations, but we will do our best to understand them. Our kids have no idea what are floppy disks, or even USBs, they'll never understand our obsession with fake tan and Victoria's Secret angels, or how once upon a time Leo DiCaprio was every girl's dream. But we will support their goals, and treat them with kindness. Maybe because we are snowflakes: we don't come often, but when we do, everything grey turns into magic.
Face it, guys: we are indeed the first generation that isn't growing older, we are just getting better! We allowed ourselves to be superficial and caring at the same time, and that has to count for something. Let's keep fighting the fight because we still need to "kill" elitism, classism, and all other poisons of "modern" society!
