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How to Not Be a Millenial

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The generation of millennials has created quite the stereotype of how they should act, what they should value, and even how they should dress. I happen to be a millennial because of when I was born. I don’t think that is a very good reason to be clumped into a group of people, and alas, here I am. The millennial generation has passed the baby boomer generation as the largest in American history. That’s millions of people being attributed with the same certain characteristics. Sounds quite unrealistic to me.

My entrepreneurial, tech-savvy generation appears to have left me behind in an older generation. Google and Facebook were definitely not my ideas, nor do I think they ever would have been. This country has seen the creation of the Internet, smartphones, and drones over the last few decades. With the rapid rate at which technology grows and changes, it is nearly impossible to imagine what might be created next.

Technology is not the only thing that has undergone immense change in the past half of a century. Abortion, divorce, and marriage are things that society as a whole once had a strong stance on. Although some may not have agreed, the majority held to many Biblical views of family and life and we have rather quickly moved away from that. The millennial generation is filled with diversity and people with their own unique opinions. This generation has something to say and everyone feels like they have a right to be heard. Social media provides an easy way for one person’s opinion concerning a particular subject to become viral in mere hours.

How can a millennial avoid being categorized by the year he or she was born? Ultimately, you can’t avoid being a part of your own generation. However, you do have to choose to be your own person. I will never be an entrepreneur, because my dream has always been to be a school teacher. I am not very technologically smart, but I will use what I need to in order to do my job and reach those around me to the best of my ability.

Most importantly, I will not abandon the values that my parents have raised me with and that have become my own. I will not spend my time being politically correct, but I will be kind and considerate, following my mother’s rule of “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” I will love others, even when their beliefs are not the same as mine, not because I am trying to practice tolerance, but because God has called me to love those around me.

So instead of living entitled to my opinion and my right to share it, I will choose to hold firmly and sometimes quietly to my convictions regardless of what others may be saying. Millennials will leave a mark on this country-they may even leave a mark on another planet. Their impact may be from technological advances, changing societal beliefs concerning life and family, or creating the next big innovation. I want the legacy that I leave to reveal that I held to my beliefs and showed love to everyone.

And maybe, just maybe, I won’t simply be another millennial.

Writer Bio

IMG_4808Shelby is a college student with one year before she becomes an Elementary school teacher. She loves Jesus, her family, sports and coffee! Although she would rather have control over everything in her life, she is learning that God may just be more capable. When she isn’t working or studying, you can find her spending time with her family and friends.

 

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