It’s no secret that the current millennial generation – those in their 20’s – disturb me. They are extended adolescents and I’m being kind. I was fortunate enough to have dinner tonight with the one millennial that doesn’t disappoint me and restores my faith in the youth of today. She is my friend’s daughter. I'll call her "B." B is 23. She does not pierce her face. She doesn’t have giant eyebrows. She doesn’t wear heavy makeup and eyeliner. She doesn’t have a tattoo. She doesn’t pretend to be ironic. She doesn’t post mirror selfies. She doesn’t sleep around. She agrees that anal sex counts as sex. She doesn’t think sex is as casual as a handshake and eschews the “hook up culture” that is so prevalent in her generation. She’s not on Tinder. She doesn’t wear hipster hand me downs. She doesn’t get high, do shitty drawings and post them on Instagram claiming they are “art.” She doesn’t listen to vinyl records or take polaroids or any of that grasping-onto-all-things-analog in order to feel authentic. She doesn’t vape or smoke pot or do any drugs at all in fact. Imagine that. No drugs at all. She thinks they’re stupid and while she’s tried it, she doesn’t like the ‘hangover’ or how she feels after it wears off. She is astute. She is connected to her body. She realizes that everything you put in your body has an effect on it. She is wise for someone so young.
You know what B does do? She studies. She’s in medical school. She’s just completed her exams and was the top of her class. She’s poised. She focused on her academia. She’s beautiful. She wants to go into surgery – ortho, oncology or pediatrics. She notes that there are people in medical school with her and she can’t understand how they made it that far. They are morons. They are her people but she doesn’t connect with them. Instead she chooses to be friends with like-minded people. She gets that you are who you hang out with. She is a leader. She doesn’t follow. She hates that most millennials are narcissists.
Millennials grew up in a period of amazing growth. They came of age in the dawn of the information era. They are educated, for the most part, but most of them are employed in jobs that don’t require an education. Why is that do you think? I think it’s because they are a generation that smoked their way to adult hood and feel entitled to jobs that they didn’t earn. They were baked throughout most of their teens telling themselves that weed is “natural” and "herbal" and therefore it can't be bad, right? Wrong. It has staggering effects on the growing brain. It affects the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls emotion and inhibitions and helps form long-term memories. Luckily they have smart phones now so they can set reminders for everything…because without that, they wouldn’t remember shit.
I’m surrounded by her people. B hates that term: her people because she doesn’t like to be associated with their “insecure group mentality.” Understandably so! They work in the stores I shop at, the restaurants I frequent, the Sephora I buy my makeup at, and they work at my place of business. They are all around me and invariably, while they have some great qualities, none of them compare to B. They have chinks in their armor – be it drugs, pack mentality with their friends or just generally making poor choices (or all three.).
I have known B since she was six years old. Even then, I knew she was something special. I had the pleasure of watching her grow up into a beautiful young woman. She is the result of good parenting. Her Mom taught her boundaries, how to set goals and not to devalue herself by using her sexuality. She’s stunningly beautiful. She could easily play off her looks but she doesn’t. She is worldly, well-read and carries herself like a woman who is much wiser than her years. She thinks her people are insecure and she doesn’t understand their “stupidity.” She thinks smoking pot or vaping is for losers. She is independent. She doesn’t succumb to peer pressure. She stands up for herself and she says “no” to things she doesn’t want to do. She doesn’t run in a pack like wolves because she is an army of one. She directs her own journey. She knows that no one is going to study for her and she can’t afford to have any distractions. She inspires me. She is a beacon of light for her generation. I pray there are more of her out there but I'm not delusional. The pickings are slim! Ya Ya...I know I'm old and therefore my opinion is irrelevant.
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