Millennials account for nearly a quarter of the total U.S. population and are so vastly different from any other generation that has come before them. You have this group of young, innovative minds immersed in a technological era who want to make a difference in the world, but they’re living in a society designed to work against them, leaving them paralyzed by decision-making for fear of failure or making the wrong choice. Millennials seek a better, changed world resulting in a lot of undoing that previous generations worked hard to construct during their own prime. It’s no wonder past generations carry some disdain.
See, I’m one of those millennials. I can attest and attribute first-hand to our strengths and weaknesses. I got my first job at the age of 18. I remember the frustration of not being able to get one sooner because not only was I absorbed in school and extracurricular activities, but I also needed a car to drive to work. Interestingly enough, in order to get a car, I needed money. Other than wondering whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first, that was the first paradox I experienced.
As I moved through college, I found myself struggling with the right career choice. I was going to be a photographer – until I wasn’t. Then I became terrified about working a mundane 9 to 5 corporate job that was miserable and didn’t pay enough. I desperately wanted to find a career I could love. My transition into adulthood essentially looked like me standing still because I was too fearful to move – too fearful to do anything. I wanted more than anything to achieve the vision in my head, except I didn’t know how to take the next step. That was the second paradox.
When I finally got married and had our son, my expectation was to be a stay-at-home {work-from-home} mom, so I could be present for his first steps and first words, playing, teaching, and experiencing life with him. Instead, our family couldn’t afford to support and sustain itself on one paycheck especially with a new, little mouth to feed, so I began working full time. That was the third and most profound paradox.
My situation as a millennial mom serves as a microcosm of the paradox within the entire culture of the millennial generation. Millennials want to make a difference in the world doing something they love. However, more often than not they are consumed by the fast-paced environment that has consistently painted secondary education as the only option. A path that leaves them over-qualified for a job they won’t necessarily want for the long haul, struggling to live sustainably doing something they love or too broke to fund their ideal, professional ventures.
Being a mom is making a difference in the world. Raising a child who can become an asset to the community is making a difference in the world. But even so, if a mom does want to stay at home with her kids and can’t, how can she have the same impact on her children if someone else is raising them for the majority of their most impressionable, waking hours? This is something I struggle with and I often wonder if there’s an escape from this paradox.
Perhaps the only real answer is to maximize our strengths as innovative, path forgers who are constantly looking to improve themselves through creative solutions and to keep pushing forward with grit and tenacity. So for now, I’ll enjoy and make the most of every precious moment I can, while I grind and hustle for a future that is fulfilled by the joy I crave and a reassurance that I’ll somehow leave the world in a better place than it once was.
Is this frustration something you’ve experienced as a millennial mother?
